Flowers and gemstones
by banshee-hime
Summary: Sweet Pea really doesn't know what to make out of the new girl at Southside High. She's short, feisty and too much of a Northsider for his liking... Right? Apparently, no. This is how Sweet Pea finally got the guts to ask someone out and what followed. Sweet Pea/OC looking for a beta
1. Home sweet home

**So, here's the first chapter of our longer story about Sweet Pea and Ruby. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Info:**

 **Fandom:** Riverdale **  
Pairing:** Sweet Pea/OC **  
Rating:** T  
 **Updates:** Irregular **  
Word count:** 4028 (all chapters over 4k) **  
Chapter count:** 1/?  
 **Faceclaim:  
** Ruby Wolfe – India Eisley  
Jo Wolfe – Adrian Paul  
Mattie – Elle Fanning

* * *

 **Home sweet home**

Sheriff Keller got up from his desk, tossed the folder he had been looking over into the drawer and pushed it closed. He then locked up all of his files securely and grabbed his phone and car keys, ready to call it a day. Riverdale was as quiet as always, with only the Southside Serpents and Ghoulies causing trouble here and there. The case he'd been working on that evening was fairly open and shut. The Serpents had gone to collect their debt with a 'client', and when the man refused to pay, they'd re-decorated his shop. It wasn't an unusual sight in Riverdale, but what troubled the Sheriff was the fact that none of his suspects had given up any names. And, that was the definition of reasonable doubt. No video, no pictures, no witnesses. The Southside Serpents knew what they were doing and their 'client' wasn't ready to talk, either.

"Sheriff?" His assistant, a blonde woman named Margery whom he vaguely remembered from his high school years, stopped him before he could leave the station. Sheriff Keller turned around. "We've got a ten sixty-four R at the old Wolfe house." The Sheriff sighed, his hand rising to rub his temples, trying to ease the tension there. He'd promised his son that he would be home early. It seemed like that wouldn't be the case that evening, as usual.

"I'll take it. Probably those kids again," the Sheriff waved goodbye to the assistant and headed out. "Goodnight, Margery. I'm heading home after I check this out." And the Sheriff was off. He got in his cruiser, turning on the lights and driving just under the speed limit towards the Wolfe property. It was located far on the east side of the small town, just across the bridge to the Northside. However, after the death of the old owners, the property had become a popular challenge for proving bravery among teens. For some reason or the other, there were more than a few stories about ghosts circling around. Sheriff Keller had heard them from his son, but hadn't paid too much attention to the details. After all, he knew that there was still one person left in the Wolfe family, the current owner of the property. Regardless of the fact that the man had left Riverdale a long time ago to join the army, the house was still his. And, the brave teens trying to prove their worth by spending the night inside the old home were trespassers.

Sheriff Keller parked his cruiser just outside of the tall gates, locking it behind him. He pushed the gates open, making them squeak as they moved. But, before the Sheriff could step inside, a loud growl came from the direction of the home, followed by barking and running paws. Sheriff Keller stepped back, slamming the gates closed just in time. A large dog ran up, massive paws reaching the height of the man's torso as it barked and snarled angrily at the Sheriff. He just stood there, for a few moments, breathing heavily and watching the canine. When he shined his flashlight on it, he saw that it was a grey Staffordshire, well cared for and looking quite angry.

"Chili! Be cool!" A girl's voice called from the porch, making the dog slink back from the iron gates, growling one last time before it trotted up to its owner. "Who is it?" The same voice called out.

"This is the police!" Sheriff Keller didn't dare open the gates again, the image of long teeth still in his mind. "You're trespassing on private property. Scram!" There was a moment of quiet, the light pooling onto the front porch as a tall figure opened the front door.

"Come in, officer!" A man's gruff voice now called out, the figure looming in the doorway. "We'll show you our papers." Then, Sheriff Keller opened the iron gates and entered, closing them behind him. The driveway was dark and a bit lumpy, making the man pick his path to the house carefully. He spotted a car right in front of the home, the trunk popped open. Once he reached the porch, the Sheriff squinted, blinking to see the identity of the two people on the porch. "Well, well. Look who became sheriff!" The looming male figure heartily laughed, hopping down the couple of steps towards him. "It's been a long time, Tom."

"Jo?" Sheriff Keller asked, finally seeing the face of the man and placing him. Joseph Wolfe had changed since the last time Tom Keller had seen him. Gone was the young boy with a messy bedhead and before him stood a well-built man, just a bit taller than him. But, despite the bulging muscles Sheriff Keller could see through the grey wife-beater shirt, there was still that easy-going grin and a dimple on the left side of the man's face, just like the Jo he remembered from high school. "Well I'll be damned! Joseph Wolfe!" And the two men shook hands, before briefly embracing. "Look at you!" Sheriff Keller was shocked, to say the least. The day Joseph had left Riverdale, it had seemed like he would never return to the small town.

"Look at you, Tommy! Proper uniform and flashlight," laughed Joseph. "Remember when you tagged that police car? What was it, again? Fu-"

"Now, now, Jo. No need to drag up ancient history," laughed the Sheriff. Jo clapped his shoulder, nodding.

"Alright, alright." The man pulled back, motioning to the young girl who still stood at the porch with the dog. "I don't believe that you've met my daughter, Ruby." The teen gave an awkward wave. "And, that's Chili. You've met him."

"Oh, I've met him." Sheriff Keller agreed with a huff, looking at the dog which was sitting next to the girl, watching him warily.

"Don't take his greeting personally. He's just a bit territorial." Joseph motioned with his arm to the entrance. "Come in for a cup of joe? Drag up some of that ancient history with me?" Sheriff Keller shook his head with a smile, but walked up the steps regardless.

"Not too long, though, Jo. I have a family to get back to."

"Oh? There's a Mrs. Keller?" And the door of the Wolfe home closed behind the two old friends, leaving the teen with her dog on the porch. She turned to the canine with a smile.

"Let's go, Chili. More boxes await."

* * *

For Ruby, mornings were a routine. Despite waking up in the living room of an unfamiliar old house, her sleeping bag right next to her father's, she rose easily and got started on her schedule. It was a Wednesday, which meant that she had a jog, some jiu-jitsu drills with her father and later in the afternoon, a date with her punching bag. But, despite the morning routine Ruby knew by heart in her head, there was another thing on her mind.

She had just moved into her father's childhood home. And, while she had done some exploring the evening before, she'd been beyond tired. So, Ruby had a large grin on her face as she tied her long hair in a tight ponytail and changed into comfortable running gear, sweats, and a white wife-beater. They had moved once more, but her father had promised that this had been the last time. This time, they were there to stay. There would be no more tossing everything she owned into boxes like a well-practiced Tetris match. There would be no more meeting the new neighbors. There would be no more greeting students as the new girl in school. And, there would be no more crying as she said goodbye to all of that. This… This was home, whatever that meant.

Ruby tied her sneakers and double checked them, chugging down some water from one of the bottles in the fridge before whistling for her dog, Chili. He bounded over, nails tapping a rhythm on the old hardwood floor of the Wolfe house, ears alert and tongue lolling happily from his mouth.

"Ready for a run, boy?" Ruby asked the dog, watching the way he perked up at the word 'run'. As Chili turned in circles around himself, jumping with eager joy, the teen spotted her father. He entered through the back door, from the yard, already slick with sweat. Ruby tossed him her water. "I'm going for a run with Chili. My phone's with me." Jo nodded.

"Don't go too far and don't get into too much trouble, kiddo." He came over, kissing Ruby's temples and ruffling her neat ponytail into a mess. She frowned, but allowed him the affectionate gesture, heading for the front door. Their old classic Mustang sat in the driveway, looking quite unassuming and very much at home. Ruby jogged past it, turning around only when she reached the front gates. Chili was hot on her heels, a bit disappointed and restless when the teen stopped, one hand on the iron handle. Ruby looked at the Wolfe family home for a moment longer.

It was an old one, that much she knew. From her father's stories, she'd learned that her great-grandfather had built it himself, inspired by the Victorian home he'd grown up in back in England. And, the influence clearly showed, even now that the house seemed more like a haunted mansion than anything. Two stories, with tall windows and sharp edges along with tower-like structures on each corner colored in dark green and black, loomed high into the sky. The round areas on the corners, though, promised a good window seat or two, which Ruby was certain she would take advantage of. The porch was white, with a space for a swing on the left that her father swore had been there in his youth. It had character, Ruby decided with a small nod. And, if there was something that the teen liked, it was things with character.

"C'mon, Chili." The iron gate opened to let out the short girl and her eager dog for their morning jog.

* * *

Ruby shook out her wet hair and paused for a second, holding her used towel. With a silent swear in her head, she went to hang it on one of the iron hooks on the back of the bathroom door. She paused again, before squinting at the hooks. The rust which had bothered her a second ago was gone, replaced with another annoying fact that would be burned in her mind forever. Each of the hooks had a wolf's head at the end, meticulously carved out of iron, snarling at her. Ruby hung her damp towel and threw her head back with a small groan.

She slipped on some clean underwear and managed to shimmy her freshly washed body into a pair of skinny jeans with little trouble. Then, Ruby headed downstairs, making a beeline for her section of the moving essentials and digging out a fresh wife-beater, this time red.

"Good, you're dressed." Jo appeared in the doorway, looking ready to go out. At his daughter's questioning gaze, he elaborated. "I was going to go look for an old friend. This house might need more work than I can handle."

"Just promise me that we will remove those awful hooks in the bathroom, and I'm in." Ruby grumbled.

"Oh, you noticed grandpa's obsession with wolves," laughed Jo. "He had his own creepy style, but it was undeniable that he had style." Ruby's glare didn't let up. "Alright, we'll replace them if they creep you out, kiddo."

"Good." Ruby whistled for Chili and the three members of the Wolfe family headed out, piling into the old Mustang. Soon enough, the teen rolled down her window, the rush of air drying her hair. The open window also scored her a merry canine in her lap, Chili's tongue lolling out of his mouth as he stuck his head out. Jo laughed as the dog slobbered happily and Ruby giggled, wiping her arm, before taking out her phone and snapping a selfie of her and the content pup.

"Hashtag slobber is cool?" The broad-shouldered man laughed.

"Hashtag my dad's annoying." Ruby countered. "I'm giving Mattie an update as promised." The phone let out a telltale popping sound as the image uploaded over WhatsApp. Ruby gazed lazily at the scenery passing by. Slowly, the large properties with big yards became huddled suburban houses with pastel colored doors and walls. Then, as Jo turned numerous corners, the car slowed down and finally parked in front of a nice-looking white home.

"Here we are," sighed Jo, staring out at the home nostalgically. "Gosh, it's been _ages_." He stepped out, Ruby following, leaving the windows open for Chili. The duo walked up to the home, Jo ringing the bell once and stepping back. Footsteps sounded, followed by a male voice yelling that he was coming. Then, the door swung open. The man standing there was wearing a flannel shirt and loose jeans, a scruff of a beard on his chin. But, his eyes looked young, vivacious.

"Hello," the man greeted. "How can I help you?"

"Hey, Fred," Jo greeted in his deep voice. "Long time." The man's, Fred's, eyes blew wide and his mouth opened a few times, no sound coming out. Then, he stepped outside, grasping Jo into a tight hug.

"Oh my God!" Exclaimed Fred, pulling back with a wide grin. He held Jo's shoulders for a moment longer, as if trying to figure out if the tall man was real, before pulling him back in for another hug. "Joseph Wolfe! On my doorstep!" Fred laughed loudly, shaking his head. "I thought you were never coming back!"

"Plans change." Jo replied with a small smile of his own, nodding at Ruby. She offered an awkward wave from her spot on the porch.

"Oh my!" Fred focused on her then. "Your daughter?"

"Ruby Wolfe, sir." Ruby introduced herself.

"Fred Andrews," The man extended his hand, shaking hers in a firm grip. "I knew your old man back in the day," Fred explained, his friendly grin never leaving his features. "Come in, both of you." Then, he turned before he could enter the house again. "You _do_ have time for some coffee, don't you?"

"Always," Jo entered the home after their host. "I also need a bit of an update on the town gossip." Fred laughed, waving the both of them in.

* * *

It turned out that Fred Andrews was Jo's old friend from high school. He was also the owner of a construction company and he had a son who was Ruby's age. All in all, the teen was semi-bored, half-listening to the old stories from her father's high school days. They had talked about a number of people she wasn't familiar with, touching on the topic of Fred's wife, her own mother and Jo's career in the army. Finally, after a few hours, the front door opened and in came a handsome boy with red hair in a blue and yellow shirt.

"Hey, dad," He greeted, before looking at their guests questioningly. Fred immediately stood from their kitchen table.

"Son, this is Jo, my old buddy from high school," introduced the construction company owner. "And, this is Ruby, his daughter. They just moved back into the Wolfe house."

"The haunted one?" Asked the redhead, looking between the two as if they didn't seem the type to buy a property like that.

"Fiction, I hope," Jo laughed, standing up and extending his hand. "The property's been in the family for generations. If there are a few ghosts in the attic, they're family." The teen shook Jo's hand, grinning at the joke.

"Archie Andrews, nice to meet you." The boy seemed polite, Ruby decided. She wouldn't mind hanging out with him, unless he was like the boys she'd seen before – polite in front of parents and disrespectful as soon as anyone over eighteen vanished. Archie was looking at her then, extending his hand. She shook it.

"Ruby," The girl supplied. He had a strong, firm handshake and she decided that she liked that. "You go to South High?" She asked.

"Oh, no, I'm at Riverdale," Archie replied, pointing to the crest of his T-shirt. "Go bulldogs." Ruby tilted her head to the side, lips pursed.

"There are two high schools here?" She asked. The two men wandered to the sink, talking in hushed, rumbling tones about business as the teens got acquainted.

"Yeah, Riverdale High and Southside High. There's also a few more, but they're all in different counties," Archie explained. "It's a bit of a trip to get there. Where will you be going? The Wolfe house is pretty much in the middle, so…" Ruby nodded.

"I think I'm enrolling in South High," she told the boy. "My dad went there, so I figured I would, too." Archie made an odd expression, something between a wince and a shrug.

"Be careful, then," he said. "There are some nasty rumors going around about South High. Drugs, gangs, you know?"

"I'm a big girl." Ruby grinned with a shrug of her own. Archie let out an easy laugh and motioned with his head towards the stairs.

"Want to go up and play some games while the parental supervision talks business?" Now, that, Ruby was eager to do.

"Sure!" And Archie led her up the stairs and to his room.

* * *

Ruby was exhausted by the time evening arrived. Between meeting the Andrews men and training with her father, she'd barely had the strength to clean up the room she'd chosen for herself a bit. The teen had also carried some of her boxes up, settling them in front of the door in the hallway, because she still wanted to change the old carpet, or at least wash it. But, according to Jo, the room would be ready for her to completely move in by the end of the week.

He had worked out a deal with Fred to get some work done on the house, professionally. The Andrews would arrive the next morning and they would get started with the roof, which Jo had found had a few holes in it. Hence, he wanted it fixed before the rains started in September, which was less than two months away. Ruby was dreading the next day, though, as the movers would also arrive with the bulk of their belongings, and she didn't doubt that she would be in charge of that task. It would be like weight lifting, only with stairs navigation. Though, she hoped that she could rope Archie, her first friend at Riverdale, into helping her out. The boy had admitted, in between their numerous rounds of Tekken, that he didn't enjoy working with his father too much.

Ruby headed downstairs after a quick shower, but not before skillfully placing odd things on each of the dreadful wolf heads that acted as hooks in the bathroom to hide them. She found her father conked out in his sleeping bag already and snuggled into hers, dialing a familiar number on her cell over facetime. Soon enough, the call was picked up.

"Hey, superwoman!" The camera cleared up and focused on the other side, showing a familiar midnight sky painted on the ceiling, complete with glow-in-the-dark stars, before it shifted to show Ruby's friend's face. "How's it going, girl?" Mattie, as always, seemed overly energetic.

"Hey, Mattie-pie," Ruby greeted with a small, tired smile. She had met Mattie at her first day of freshman year, three schools ago. But, despite the fact that Ruby had known her for only two months in class, they had stayed good friends afterwards. Facetiming was a thing and the two girls exchanged hundreds of texts, pictures and videos every day. Distance, and there were quite a few miles between them, didn't seem to matter. "Just getting ready to crash. Exhausting day."

"You'd think the Wolfe power duo would be used to moving by now, huh?" Mattie laughed, shaking her head. "Tell me everything! How's the house? Is it creepy? What about the neighborhood? Have you gone to see the new school yet?" If there was one thing which Ruby loved about Mattie, it was that the girl could always hold a conversation. Even when Ruby had had a bad day, making her grumpy and quiet, her friend could chatter about silly things and keep the girl from falling into one of her moods when she tended to overtrain.

"The house is pretty cool. It's just like dad described, all Victorian and old-school," Ruby sighed tiredly but kept smiling as she talked. "I think it'll look nice once we're finished with it. But, for now, it has creepy wolf heads all over. Can you believe it, there are iron wolf heads as hooks in the bathroom? First thing I'm taking down, care bear." Mattie laughed heartily.

"I want pictures before you do!" The excited girl on the other end of the line rolled over so that she was lying on her bed, phone up in the air. Ruby caught a glimpse of the sheets she knew well, from Nightmare Before Christmas, and the nightstand Mattie had painted to look like three trunks ready to be shipped to Hogwarts. "Even better, send me one."

"Suuure," Ruby drawled sarcastically, but she knew that she would probably do just that. Mattie was a bit of an oddball. And, she liked collecting different out-of-the-box items. Something about misfits sticking together. "The town seems okay. It's small and quiet, nothing like Annapolis," Ruby continued. "I met only a few of dad's friends. Oh, and one of them has a son our age, Archie. He's pretty cute."

"Oooooh! Boy next door!" Mattie giggled, making Ruby chuckle, too.

"More like, boy on the other side of the town." Laughed the teen. Then, a large yawn broke on her face, making her squint.

"Alright, lights out for you, superwoman," Mattie spoke in a softer tone. "I expect pictures of this other town side boy tomorrow." And back was the peppy voice Ruby knew and loved.

"Yes, ma'am." And the call cut off. Ruby exited the app on her phone to save battery and locked the screen, leaving her in complete darkness. But, when she listened, eyes closed, she could tell that it wasn't the kind of darkness where she was alone. Jo's soft snores were coming in a steady rhythm from his camping bag. Chili's nails were scraping the floor as he ran in his sleep, twitching his paws and letting out soft whines which Ruby knew were his dream barks. But, more importantly, the house wasn't eerily quiet.

There was a window somewhere, probably in the attic, which swayed with the air draft, thumping against the frame rhythmically. The warm summer breeze, let into their new home intentionally, seemed to play the empty hallways like a fiddle. A whistle here, a whoosh there, the breeze wound its way through the Wolfe home before leaving, like a playful uninvited guest. Through the closest open window, a thing Jo and Ruby had agreed not to close because of the dust, the teen could hear the nocturnal creatures making their way around the garden.

The Wolfe House was located near the Fox Forest and close to the Sweetwater River, making the nightlife of the residents outside quite loud. There were cicadas that Ruby could hear clearly, right under her window. A telltale croak of a frog, sounding from time to time, which creeped her out a bit. Birds, calling to each other in the woods just a few hundred meters from the house. The faint sound of the river rushing past their property and into the Fox Forest. Altogether, unlike the car-filled street under her old bedroom window, the Wolfe home had a different kind of noise. But, after lying in the dark, listening for a while, Ruby decided that she preferred these kinds of sounds over the honking of angry drivers.

So, she closed her eyes and slowly sleep claimed her, into silly dreams of levitating moving boxes, giant croaking frogs and wolf heads on door handles that tried to bite her fingers off.

* * *

 **I'd like to thank Vulvarity for all the support and work she's done on this story with me :D**

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 **Let me know how you liked it!**


	2. I've got friends on the Southside

**Thank you for all the support and enjoy the ride!**

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 **Info:**

 **Rating:** T **  
Word count:** 4127 (all chapters over 4k)  
 **Chapter count:** 2/? **  
Faceclaim:  
** Ruby Wolfe – India Eisley  
Jo Wolfe – Adrian Paul  
Mattie – Elle Fanning  
Lucas Bradshaw – Lucas Till

 **Yes, I'm a total Disney nerd with this title, bear with me hahaha**

* * *

 **I've got friends on the Southside**

"Honey, the movers are here!" At the sound of her father's voice, Ruby abandoned her previous task of attempting to clean a huge wooden wardrobe in the master bedroom. She flew down the stairs, jumping the last four or so, her ponytail swishing behind her. There was a telltale sound of Chili's paws on the hardwood floor before the grey Staffordshire raced along the driveway, throwing himself threateningly onto the iron fence.

"I'm here!" Ruby yelled, hurrying for the gates. "Chili! Be cool!" There was a white moving truck there, with a large colorful logo on the side, telling everyone that they were Maryland movers. Ruby swung both sides of the gate open, letting the van in, as Chili ran around her legs, still disgruntled. The man driving tipped his white ball-cap at her, the movers' logo clear on it. Ruby led the way, motioning for the van to park on the other side of Fred Andrews' truck.

"Wolfe family?" Asked the driver, hopping out and slamming the door behind him. It squeaked horribly, making Ruby wince.

"Ruby Wolfe," she confirmed with a nod. "I've been left to manage this party." She grinned at the man.

"Tim, from Maryland Moving and Storage," the ball-cap wearing man introduced himself. "Where do you want the boxes, Miss?" Two more men exited the truck while they were talking.

"We'll get them settled in the lobby and the dining room, and carry the furniture that should go into the bedrooms upstairs, if that's alright?" Tim nodded, waving to his crew, before following Ruby inside. "So, the boxes go here," she showed the area which she had cleared earlier that day to the man. Chili padded along with them, before deciding that they weren't interesting enough after sniffing the newcomers. He ran towards the attic next, seeking out Jo and Fred. "And there," Ruby pointed to the space right through a pair of double sliding doors. She had roped Archie into giving her a hand before their fathers could start working. The two teens had struggled to push, pull and carry the huge dining room table to the side, pressing it against the wall and freeing up space for more boxes. "We can place the breakables on the table and the bulkier things under it, if they can fit."

"Sounds good," Tim nodded. "Let's get started, boys." He told his crew, waving them over.

"Oh, I'll help, too, if that's alright?" Ruby was quick to offer, heading after the group. Tim gave her a dubious look, but agreed to let her help, seemingly to humor her.

* * *

Tim and his crew, Andy and Greg, turned out to be a fairly nice company. They were quite surprised to see Ruby haul her first huge box, filled with clothes, up the front steps, and into the dining area. From there on, though, the young girl had become an honorary member of their crew. They had even supplied her with a white ball-cap, a signature look for the workers of the company. Greg was, however, definitely the one who was most fond of her. Apparently, he had a daughter who was similar to the teen, and he missed her horribly now that she was away at college.

The morning passed in cleaning, hauling, and some more heavy lifting for Ruby. The movers were quick and efficient, and soon enough, she was giving them cash for the service, along with a generous tip, before waving goodbye at the gates. By that time, Jo and Fred had come down from the attic, followed by Archie. They were all sweaty and covered in dirt and cobwebs, looking rather hungry.

"Shall we order some pizza?" Ruby asked the men, passing them all cooled water bottles from the fridge. Archie seemed to perk up instantly, a loud growl coming from his stomach. The two men looked at the teen, laughing.

"Alright," Jo agreed with a nod. "Is there still a Hut on Southside?" He asked, turning to Fred.

"Yeah, and they deliver." Agreed the construction company owner. Ruby took out her phone, Googling the number quickly.

"Toppings?" She asked, leaning onto the kitchen table, preparing to type in their order. It took less than thirty minutes for Chili to run out of the home, torpedoing for the front gates and startling the delivery boy, who almost dropped the precious cargo he'd been carrying.

"So, what prompted this move back to Riverdale?" Fred asked conversationally as they all sat on the porch steps, eating in the warm June sun. Jo gave a shrug, swallowing.

"I decided it was time for something after the army," he replied. Ruby found herself listening intently, hoping that her father's old friend could pull some army stories out of him. If there was one thing that Jo never talked to her about, it was his time overseas as a Navy SEAL. He spoke of his team members often, as they were practically family. But, other than that, his time in the service was a mystery. A mystery she wanted to know about. "Ruby needed a stable place to finish high school, too. Riverdale was the perfect choice."

"Low crime rate, you've got a house here, I get it," Fred nodded. "What about your wife? Is she moving here, too?" Ruby almost dropped her pizza slice. Archie leaned in, listening. Jo's eyes found Ruby's and he let out a small sigh.

"No," her father had never shied away from the topic of her mother, no matter how painful it got. "Lisa's in Afghanistan. Third tour."

"Oh." The conversation died out for a few seconds, Fred eating his pizza awkwardly. He had realized that he'd opened a can of worms.

"We Skype," Jo elaborated. "Never married, but we consider ourselves a couple." He laughed, trying to diffuse the tension. "Not for my lack of trying, either."

"You got rejected, what, three times?" Ruby laughed then, remembering the stories of her father's failed proposals. This seemed to interest Fred quite a bit.

"Well, Jo here never was good with the ladies," he turned to Ruby, much to her glee. "In junior year, he liked this girl, what was her name again?" Jo groaned.

"Margery." He supplied.

"She was the pretty blonde one, right?" Fred asked, chuckling.

"Hell on heels." Jo nodded.

"I remember you trying to ask her to Pop's and tripping in front of her, spilling your lunch all over her dress." Ruby laughed, throwing her head back, along with Archie and Fred, while Jo seemed to try and vanish into the ground. "She was furious."

"Well, as far as I can recall, you weren't doing well with Darla at that time, either." Jo tried to save his dignity by firing a warning shot right back. Fred instantly stopped laughing.

"Darla?" Archie smugly piped up from his seat on the top step.

"Not important." Fred tried to brush his son off, but the seeds had already been planted.

"Is that the one with the large lips from your yearbook?" Archie asked, making Ruby giggle uncontrollably. "With the lipstick kiss on her message at the beginning?" Jo's laughter was as loud as it could get.

"Oh, yeah," he confirmed. "Darla loved her lipstick. She still around?" Fred shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I think that she married and went out of state," he mused. "But Margery is working for Tom, if you want to catch up?"

"Touché." Jo groaned.

* * *

Ruby fell into an easy routine over the following few days. She cleaned, repaired or tossed out the furniture and items from the old Wolfe home during the day. Sometimes, Archie managed to escape his father and help her. Those hours were spent in gossiping about different people who lived in Riverdale, most of them from the Northside. Ruby had learned that there was a segregation between the north and the south part of the small town. The former was mostly an affluent neighborhood with law-abiding citizens who went about their daily business quietly, careful of what their neighbors would think of their actions. From Archie's stories, it sounded like the area where she'd lived back in Maryland.

Ruby had been introduced, through numerous stories, to Betty Cooper, a childhood friend, and girl next door. Apparently, a Nancy Drew fan and the smartest person Archie knew. Also, she learned about a person named Jughead, whose odd nickname she was still trying to get used to. He was Archie's best friend and the man to find if you needed to know the ins and outs of both sides of the town. Also, Ruby had heard about numerous other teens that went to Riverdale High. But, Archie proved as a poor source of information when it came to South High.

He had told her what he knew, though. Most of the kids who went there were in gangs, had poor grades and weren't interested in popular sports. Archie had warned her about being out after dark on the other side of the tracks, saying that there were always Serpents out looking for trouble on the streets. He'd even made Ruby promise not to be reckless and seek them out, noticing her curious look. And, Archie had made absolutely certain that she wouldn't go to a place called the Whyte Wyrm, which made her even more interested since it was apparently off-limits. But, he'd promised to show her the Twilight Drive-In, a fairly safe place, where she could still spot the supposedly troublesome gangsters in a semi-safe environment.

Mattie was eager to chat, usually over facetime, and get a tour of Ruby's new home. She had been ecstatic to see the dreadful wolf heads, which Ruby had found on almost every possible surface in the house. And, Mattie had made the teen promise that she would let at least a few of them survive the rigorous clean-up. Ruby had to admit, the odd decoration, while still slightly morbid, was growing on her. In her room, on the first floor of the house, they had been exterminated, though. Ruby had managed to fix up the space rather nicely in her opinion, getting Mattie's stamp of artistic approval and plenty of advice.

Now, the walls were colored in a nice shade of blue, called Sweet Teal according to the paint can. Coupled with the iron bed frame, now white, and the nightstands from her old room, it all looked very nice. Ruby had even re-painted the old wardrobe white, making it seem like something out of a vintage magazine. Altogether, she was glad to start working on making the space in front of her large window a comfortable seat. And, most importantly, Ruby was happy to set up her new mattress and sleep in a proper bed. While she didn't have anything against camping in a sleeping back next to Jo in the living room, he snored. Being her rabbit self and shooting up at any loud sound, she'd woken during the odd hours of the morning all too often when he'd choke a bit on his spit or air during the night.

But, what Ruby enjoyed the most about her new home was the discovery that she'd made about the property. The Wolfe family owned a few acres of land, which ran all the way down to Sweetwater River. There, her great-grandfather had made a small hut and walkway extending in an L shape along the land and slightly into the lazy water. It was the perfect spot for a young teenage girl to set up a towel and work on her tan during summer. But, Ruby wasn't just any young teenage girl. She'd cleaned the wooden walkway and the small hut, tossing the unusable items and re-purposing the rest. After polishing the floors carefully, she had her own escape from the summer heat. So, while her father worked on the house with Fred, Ruby had spent a number of afternoons messing around in the water or playing cards on the walkway with Archie. She was almost sad because they wouldn't be going to school together. But, remembering her father's tales about South High, which he had transferred to in his sophomore year, she knew that Archie wouldn't be able to change her mind, no matter how hard he tried. Ruby would be a proud member of Southside High, as soon as the school year started.

Speaking of the school, she'd called in, arranging her transfer with minimal help from Jo. He'd signed all the papers and allowed the girl to work out the kinks with her old school and the new one. All that was left was to pay the building a visit and take a look around. Which was what Ruby was getting ready for. She'd dressed as appropriately as possible, in a pair of dark jeans and a fairly fancy shirt, before leaving her hair down and grabbing the keys from the counter. Having turned sixteen that summer, she had her driver's permit and navigated the old Mustang with ease.

"I'm going to check out the school, dad," Ruby called out to the kitchen, where Fred, Jo, and Archie were pouring over some plans for the house.

"Do you need back-up?" Jo asked, head perking up from the blueprints.

"I'll take Chili." She nodded, ignoring the frown on Archie's face.

"Stay safe, hun." With a wave, Ruby left the house, whistling for Chili to follow her. She heard Fred's concerned tone as he spoke to her father about the choice of high school for her, but didn't pay any mind to it. She preferred to see things for herself first, and then make up her mind. In the end, Riverdale High was there if she wanted to transfer.

Chili was very happy to ride shotgun, his head lolling out the open window, as Ruby navigated the unfamiliar streets of Riverdale, blasting the radio. It was tuned to a pop station, playing the latest hits, which she never could resist singing along to. Her GPS led her across the bridge of Sweetwater River and into the south part of the small town. Ruby immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere. The Southside, like Archie had told her, wasn't a suburban neighborhood. The buildings were mostly old and looked like they hadn't been renovated in years. But, there were a number of stores open, people milling about, minding their own business. Ruby spotted more than a few locals with visible tattoos, chains on their pants and odd-colored hair. Altogether, the neighborhood seemed interesting.

Southside High had a small parking lot to the right of the building where she left her car, windows cracked open for Chili's comfort. He had curled up on the passenger's seat comfortably, ready to obey the command to wait for his mistress. Ruby hopped up the front steps, entering the school. Instantly, she knew why Archie wasn't a fan of the place. There were graffiti tags everywhere, metal detectors at the door and the hallways seemed dark, despite the summer afternoon. The school gave off a vibe, but it didn't bother Ruby. It had character. And, she liked things with character.

The teen located the teachers' lounge and offices with only a bit of trouble, a little surprised to find a secretary behind a desk there. The woman seemed bored, chewing on gum and filing her nails.

"Excuse me, I'm Ruby Wolfe," the young girl caught her attention with a polite smile. "I've got an appointment with principal Matthews?" The secretary looked up at her, eyeliner-lined eyes bored.

"Through there," she instructed. "He's in his office because of summer classes." Ruby nodded and headed there, thanking the woman. She didn't receive a reply, though. After knocking on the door which spelled out the principal's name, Ruby was called in.

"Good afternoon, principal Matthews," greeted the teen. "I'm Ruby Wolfe."

"Welcome, Miss Wolfe," the principal stood from behind his desk, sliding his glasses off. He was a fairly short man, slowly balding, in a retro suit with a brown pattern which seemed to clash with his colorful button-down. He looked positively exhausted. "Please, sit." Principal Matthews shook Ruby's hand in a sweaty grip and motioned for the sole chair in front of his desk. She lowered herself into it, finding it very uncomfortable. There was a spring loose somewhere on the left side.

"I wanted to come by and see the school, as well as check if my papers have come through?" Ruby politely said, taking the chance to look around the office as soon as the principal was occupied with his computer.

"Of course, we're happy to have you, Miss Wolfe," the balding man told her while clicking away on his keyboard and mouse. "This is quite the record you've got here," principal Matthews looked over her transcripts for a moment. "Why so many transfers in a single school year?" Ruby had been expecting that question.

"My father is a Navy SEAL, sir," then, she remembered. "Well, at least he was until a month ago. He got honorably discharged and is now looking for work in the private sector. We used to move base to base a lot so that he could teach the new recruits." Principal Matthews gave her a nod.

"I see, please thank your father for his service on my behalf," he remarked and continued speaking after Ruby nodded. "Well, I will give you the list of possible classes and leave you to book yourself in before they fill up. You can do this online, of course. Shall I give you a tour of the school, or would you prefer a peer tour guide?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly trouble you, sir," Ruby quickly waved her hands in front of herself, feeling awkward. Due to her father's profession, humility and respect towards her elders had been drilled into her at a young age. It had been demanded from her, and Ruby took pride in honoring her father's wishes by obeying those unspoken rules about home-drilled manners. "A student tour guide would be perfect."

"Alright," principal Matthews looked relieved if anything. "Let me see who is in summer classes." He typed away on the computer keyboard once more, using only his forefingers and practically stabbing it with them. Ruby held back her grin at the sight. She'd seen her grandpa do the same thing more than once. "Nora!" The teen winced at the loud tone. Soon enough, the door of the office opened and the bored-looking secretary poked her head in.

"Yes?" She was still chewing gum rather loudly.

"Would you call for Lucas Bradshaw to give Miss Wolfe a tour around the school?" Principal Matthews asked, now abandoning his computer in favor of some documents on his desk. Nora didn't reply, but simply exited, leaving the door open behind her. Ruby took this as an invitation to follow.

"It was very nice meeting you, sir." She told the principal. The man looked up, locking eyes with her through his glasses.

"Likewise, Miss Wolfe. Stay out of trouble." And Ruby exited the office, closing the door behind her. As she was walking over to the secretary's counter, she heard Nora's bored tone over the loud intercom, crackling.

"Lucas Bradshaw, come to the principal's office." Nora was leaning back in her chair, a single finger pressed on the intercom speaker button. "Lucas Bradshaw, to the principal's office." The secretary then let go of the com and returned to her previous position at the desk, picking up her phone and scrolling through something. Ruby got the memo easily. The young woman didn't want to be disturbed. So, the teen leaned against the counter, pulling her own cell phone out and checking the time. She still had at least thirty minutes before Chili decided that he was bored in the car and went for an unsupervised walk about.

"Nora, you called?" There was a boy at the entrance to the teacher's offices. He was blond, a bit taller than Ruby and had a wiry frame. Though, what really caught the girl's attention were the Dr. Martens on his feet, despite the hot summer, as well as the clearly punk style of his clothing, complete with a plaid shirt and numerous piercings. However, when one disregarded his unfortunate styling choice, even with all the black eyeliner, Lucas Bradshaw was rather handsome. In that, 'boy from the wrong side of the tracks' way. Kind of like a bass player in a rock band.

"Matthews assigned you to do a peer tour for the new student," Nora said in her usual monotone, not taking her eyes off the phone screen. Ruby gave an awkward wave when the boy's eyes flew to her.

"Alright, come with me," Lucas had a nice tone of voice, something in a tenor and slightly raspy. But, even though he sounded mildly bored, Ruby noticed the way his eyes had perked up at the sight of her and how his mouth had quirked to the side. "I'm Lucas, junior year. But, most people call me Silvertongue." The boy told her.

"Ruby Wolfe, sophomore. Most people call me new girl." She shot back, watching the way Lucas' mouth quirked up into a large grin.

"Alright, new girl, snappy. I like it," he laughed. "Where're you transferring from?" He took a left, leading her down a corridor she hadn't been in before.

"Annapolis High, Maryland. I just moved here." Ruby's eyes traced the numerous graffiti along the walls. She had noticed a common theme of snakes and zombies, like they were battling each other over different parts of corridors.

"Nice," Lucas told her. "Those are gang tags," he elaborated, seeing Ruby's curious look. "There are two major gangs here, Southside Serpents and The Ghoulies. You learn to pick a side quickly, or you get gobbled up in the middle."

"I see," the girl nodded. "I have no plans on joining a gang, though." Lucas shrugged.

"Not everyone here is in a gang. You just pick a side. Sit with one at lunch and you're pretty much okay, even if you don't pledge," Lucas slowed down as they reached a hallway filled with lockers, also tagged in different graffiti. "Here are the lockers, you'll get yours at the beginning of the year with Nora. I suggest tagging it with something, so that it doesn't get broken into when someone needs more space for themselves," he explained. "This is mine, feel free to drop me a note if you need anything when school starts." Lucas pointed at the black locker door with a silver tongue sticking out of a gaping mouth drawn on it.

"Thanks." Ruby's brows furrowed, but she chose to keep the option in the back of her head.

"Sophomore lockers are over there," Lucas pointed down the hall to a row of washed-out grey metal doors. "Classrooms are pretty straightforward, the teacher names are on plaques above them and you have the numbers, too, if you get lost," Ruby nodded, noting one. It had a number and a name on it in red letters on a black rectangle. "We don't have Wi-Fi, the computer lab is crap and I don't suggest trying to flush the toilet." Lucas turned to her and made a scrunched-up expression of distaste. "That is, if you don't want to flood the school with… stuff."

"Oh God," Ruby laughed, shaking her head. "How'd that come to be?" Lucas grinned.

"Some idiot tried to blow them up a few years ago and the guys they hired for repairs just plain fucked up the job. Now it's a sanitation hazard. Come on," the boy led the way down a corridor to their right, showing her some of the common sophomore classrooms. "If you're looking to join a club or a school team, you've got limited choices. There's an art club and a music one, and we mostly don't do sports. There used to be a wrestling club some time ago, though. The school newspaper, the Red and Black, has been shut down for a while, too," when he saw her interested gaze, he added. "Lack of interest."

"Okay," Ruby nodded. "Well, what is there to do as an extracurricular here, then?"

"Chemistry lab in the basement, if you're brave. I do that one. Though, you have to get a teacher to sign off on it," Lucas told her. "Let me show you the caf-" The shrill ring of the school bell interrupted him and the junior waited, an annoyed look on his attractive face. "-eteria. Buy school food at your own risk, though. I suggest a packed lunch," There were doors slammed here and there, the sounds of chairs being pushed back shrieking through the hallway. "C'mon, before the hounds are unleashed." Lucas grabbed Ruby's hand and pulled her along, hurrying.

* * *

 **That's all for now, folks!**

 **My thanks goes out to everyone who favorited, followed and especially to those who've reviewed the story!**

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 **Reviews:**

 **When I Make It Shine:  
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 **Valerie:  
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 **I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys thought of this one :D**


	3. Jobs and sass

**I'm glad to see that you guys are enjoying yourselves with this :D I hope that this chapter is going to be as fun for you as it was for me to write :)**

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 **Info:**

 **Rating:** T  
 **Word count:** 4363  
 **Chapter count:** 3/?  
 **Faceclaim:**  
Ruby Wolfe – India Eisley  
Jo Wolfe – Adrian Paul  
Mattie – Elle Fanning  
Lucas Bradshaw – Lucas Till  
Leviathan 'Levi' - Emjay Anthony

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 **Jobs and sass**

They had barely made it into the empty cafeteria before two dozen students poured in behind them. The area seemed rather wild to Ruby at first glance, divided into a few different sections with an iron fence with gates. She was briefly reminded of an animal shelter she used to volunteer at back in Annapolis and frowned, wrinkling her nose.

"Hey, Silver," A tall boy with a mop of curly dark hair came over, slapping Lucas on the back. "Who's the chick?" Ruby found herself holding her ground, though she would've preferred standing behind her tour guide. But, her instincts told her that if she backed away now, she would be prey for the rest of her time at this high school. And, the Wolfe family were never prey.

"New sophomore, I'm showing her around." Replied Lucas easily. He turned to Ruby, motioning with his head to his friend.

"Ruby Wolfe." The girl introduced herself, offering her hand. The curly haired boy laughed, but accepted it, shaking it in a strong grip. He was dressed similarly to Lucas, like he'd just hopped out of a punk band's gig. Dark skinny jeans, hanging chains and a tattoo on his arm, large and clearly visible. It depicted some kind of a mythological beast, similar to a snake.

"Levi," he introduced himself back with an easygoing grin. "Like the Leviathan." Levi elaborated, showing off the tattoo which covered almost his whole forearm. Ruby looked from him to Lucas.

"Does everyone here have odd nicknames?" The two boys shared a look at her dubious tone and laughed.

"Pretty much," Lucas explained and waved them all over to a table in the middle of the cafeteria. "They're mostly gang nicknames and people tend to take pride in them, preferring them over their real names."

"I see," Ruby nodded, which made the two boys share an amused look as they all sat down. "I'll get used to it eventually, I suppose." She shrugged.

"Has Silver shown you all the ins and outs yet?" Levi asked, looking around as he straddled the bench. There was a group of students heading for the other side of the fence, as if segregating themselves from the rest of their peers. Some went towards the doors in the back, leaving the cafeteria and walking into the summer sun.

"I think I've got all the info I need for now," Ruby nodded. Lucas seemed to beam from his spot. "I'm going to head out, if that's alright? I've still got some errands to run."

"Of course," Lucas nodded. "Take care, Ruby. I'll see you in August?" Ruby turned as she was leaving, offering them both a smile and small wave.

"Definitely!" And, the girl followed another group of students towards the back door, leaving the school halls. She exited on the other side, the small parking lot to her right and the main entrance even further that way, after taking another right at the corner. There was a group of students with green snake logos on their jackets walking in front of her, and Ruby shamelessly followed them.

Soon enough, she reached the parking, spotting her car. The leather-clad group of teens settled down on the steps that led down to the lot, taking out some snacks and spreading them in the middle of the circle. Ruby wondered how they weren't cooking in those leather jackets. It was too hot for those. She looked up, seeing a few more groups sitting in their own spots. Five students were near her car, talking and laughing, passing some kind of a small ball between them with only their feet. She made a mental note to try and avoid them when she went to her vehicle. They were too loud for her liking.

Luck wasn't in her favor that day, apparently. Ruby passed the group on the steps that ignored her and headed for her car only to hear a catcall from the loud boys with the ball. With a glance at them, she saw one of them making a crude motion with his hips, before sending her an air kiss. Ruby chose to ignore that and headed for the driver's side of her car. But, luck was definitely not in her favor.

"Why're you in such a hurry, Northie?" The boy who'd catcalled appeared in her path, cutting her off from her car. From the Archie book of Riverdale trivia, she'd gathered that the nickname was supposed to be demeaning. Had she really dressed too fancy that day? She would need some more leather and chains, then. The boy in front of her was taller than her and had more muscle on him, but she knew that that didn't mean anything in a one on one fight. She could take him, if it came down to it.

"Yeah, stick around Northsider. We'll show you a good time." Now, there was a body behind her, the heat transferring to her back from how close the student was. Ruby looked over her shoulder to see that it was the one who'd blown her the air kiss. The other three from the group were also stalking forward, abandoning their ball.

"I'd advise you, from the bottom of my cold heart, to get out of my way." Ruby's tone had a warning to it, but it just made the boys laugh. By then, almost everyone in the parking lot was looking at them, waiting to see how the scene would unfold.

"Northie's got spunk!" The boy in front of her came closer, his hands going for her hips. In an instant, Ruby moved, pulling out the familiar rectangular object from the back pocket of her jeans. She had been reluctant to take it with her, but she was glad that she had. Just in case.

A buzzing noise rang throughout the parking lot and the boy in front of her fell to the ground, shaking with the aftershock of being tasered. There was a moment of silence, before the remaining for boys moved in on her quickly. The one behind her grabbed her arms, successfully preventing her from using her taser again. Though, Ruby didn't only have that to protect herself with. She let out a whistle, which was followed by a loud bark.

Chili threw himself out the open window of her car, sleek body rushing towards her with a loud growl. Instantly, the boys backed off, frightened expressions on their faces. Chili's teeth were bared and his eyes were going from one to the other teen. They had bothered his mistress.

"Chili, be cool," Ruby instructed, petting his head when he nuzzled into her knee. "Yeah, I don't think I'm going to see a good time with you guys anytime soon," she told the four teens who were watching the large Staffordshire warily. "I like my men with a little more backbone." And Ruby walked away with Chili hot on her heels, ignoring the laughter and cheering coming from the other students in the parking lot.

* * *

"Hey, dad! I'm back," Ruby greeted in a loud voice, entering the home and heading for the kitchen to wash her hands and make some coffee. She felt a little groggy after her exploration of the school. "Want some coffee?!"

"Sure," Jo's voice startled her, coming from the doorway to the living room. She had expected him to be upstairs, in the attic, fixing the roof with Fred and Archie. "How was the school?"

"It was… interesting," Ruby laughed and he chuckled along. "Where are the Andrews?"

"Fred got a job and had to bail," Jo sighed, leaning back onto the kitchen table. "I get it, that job's more lucrative and gives him work for the rest of the summer." Ruby poured the coffee, adding cream and sugar to hers. She placed the two cups, obviously meant for tea back in the day, on the table. They were white and decorated with a dark green forest all around the rim.

"We can push a little harder and get it done ourselves, no?" She asked, watching her father take a small sip of his coffee, before sighing.

"I think it's time I went to the Wyrm and saw if they wanted some legit work." Jo grumbled, as if surrendering to the inevitable.

"The Whyte Wyrm?" Ruby asked curiously. "Isn't that a gang headquarters or something?" Jo laughed.

"It's a bar. But, yeah, it doubles as the Southside Serpents' base of operations," the man told her. "They are a rowdy bunch, but they do take a lot of legit jobs on the side for extra cash. If they're interested, it could be a good way to get all of that ruined stuff down from the attic and fix up some of the furniture down here." Ruby nodded.

"If you think that's a good idea, I'm fine with it."

* * *

Jo returned home in the afternoon with half a dozen leather-wearing men on motorcycles following his Mustang onto the Wolfe property. He had been surprised to enter the Whyte Wyrm and ask to see the Serpents' King, only to be led to his old high school buddy, FP Jones. The man looked a little worse for wear, but years hadn't been too kind on him. His wife had left, taking the younger of their two children with him. And, shortly afterward, his son had moved out, living God knows where, and leaving FP to find solace at the bottom of a bottle. But, Jo had easily convinced the head Serpent that taking a legit job for once would be both good pay and good work. So, after FP had made a few phone calls, Jo had a small demolition crew of about a dozen gangsters. The ones present at the bar had followed him home right away and the rest would be coming straight from the quarry, a popular hangout spot for the younger members.

"Damn, Jo," FP looked the house over from the outside, unhooking his helmet and nudging out the kickstand of his motorcycle with his foot. "That doesn't look too homey."

"You should've seen it a week ago," the former Navy SEAL grumbled. "Ruby and I have done some work and Fred helped out with the roof. It's mostly leak proofed now."

"Fred Andrews?" FP asked.

"The one and only," confirmed Jo. "He got a better job offer, though. It's just us now." FP motioned for the Serpents to follow them into the house and they entered. The inside smelled of slightly stale air, dust and old wood.

"Jesus, you plan on living here?" FP asked, turning in a circle and looking around the living room. There was a sleeping bag tossed over the old couch and there were cobwebs along the tall shelves, filled with pictures, decorative porcelain dinnerware, and other items. They looked like they hadn't been touched in years.

"What can I say?" Jo shrugged. "It's still home," then, he grinned. "Besides, Ruby hasn't gotten to this floor yet. She started on her room and spread like a cleaning tsunami across the upstairs." Laughed the man.

"When will we get to meet this elusive daughter of yours?" FP joked, heading to the fridge like he was at home. And, he felt like he was. In their youth, Jo and FP had hung out at the old Wolfe house a number of times. He still remembered his way around, despite the years that had passed since he'd last stepped inside. FP grabbed a few beers, giving them out to his crew and Jo. The man shook his head at the offer. "Come now, Jo," FP teased. "You work with us, you have to drink with us. Right?" His men chuckled, nodding.

"Maybe when we're done," Jo replied. "Let me see if Ruby's still out. I think she went for a run with Chili. You still know your way around?" He took out his phone, nodding at FP.

"No worries, we'll get started on the crap in the attic, if it's still there?" FP could still remember the old tradition of the Wolfe family. If something broke, they wouldn't fix it or toss it. Instead, great-grandfather Wolfe would demand that they kept it, just in case, in the attic. Hence, the space was mostly filled with broken and unusable items.

"You know it." Jo laughed, placing the phone to his ear.

* * *

Ruby got home after an hour long run in the Fox Forest with Chili. The area was rather nice and the trail was solid, leading her deep into the woods, before looping around a small picnic area with nest swings, teeter-totters and even an old, wooden merry-go-round that you pushed with your legs. Ruby had discovered the place a few days ago, when she'd dared to switch up her usual run along the highway and headed into the woods. These days, it was her favorite afternoon jogging spot. The trees provided a nice shade and there was a small drinking fountain that you had to pump for water in the middle of the area. Chili loved it, too, as he had a chance to chase after more than enough squirrels on the way.

The teen arrived back at the Wolfe property comfortably sore from her run and a bit tired. Her hair clung to her neck with sweat, ponytail messy. She was a bit flushed and honestly looking forward to a shower. However, that would have to wait. After all, there were a dozen motorcycles parked in their driveway and she could see a number of men and boys, looking like they'd just stepped out of a biker bar, moving unusable stuff out of the old house. Most of them had their shirts off, or had stripped down to wife-beaters. There was a lot of chatter in between them, jokes being exchanged as they worked. Jo had called her and told her that the Southside Serpents had accepted the job, but Ruby hadn't been quite prepared for this kind of a scene. She'd expected them to be a bit more intimidating. Maybe blasting hard rock from a speaker as they worked, or something?

"Ruby, right?" Asked one of the tallest men in the yard as he placed down his end of an old bed with broken legs. "Your father's somewhere in the attic, directing traffic." He told her, wiping his forehead and tossing his long hair back with a motion of his head. Chili wandered over, sniffing the man, before continuing to inspect their guests one by one.

"Thanks," Ruby replied with a small smile. "Thanks for helping out, too. We really appreciate it." The man grinned at that.

"We appreciate the work, too," he nodded. Ruby headed inside, waiting in the doorway for two men to take out an old sofa chair, half eaten by moths, before jogging up the stairs. When she reached the second set, however, she was faced with a huge armoire and a colorful curse word.

"Fangs!" A deep voice shouted out from the other side of the armoire, only black hair visible over the top of it. "I swear if you don't come back I'm pushing this thing down the stairs," Ruby wondered for a second if she should help, say anything or go look for this Fangs person. Though, she'd hesitated a second too long. "Alright, man, this one's on you." And the armoire moved towards her like an ominous wooden wall.

"Holy crap!" Ruby squeaked out, quickly jumping up the ten steps to the furniture piece in order to help steer it down the stairs safely. The armoire was made out of heavy wood, though, which instantly made her arms ache and knees buckle as she tried to brace it the best she could. "Woah, woah!" Ruby yelled and the armoire stopped pushing her down the stairs in an instant.

"Toni?" Asked the same gruff voice from above.

"Ruby," the girl poked her head to the left, her arms still hugging the heavy piece of furniture, terrified that it would bulldoze its way over her if she let up. "Hi," she greeted through the narrow space in between the armoire and the wall. Then, a head appeared on the other end, peering at her curiously. The teen was around her age, and fairly handsome in his own, bad boy bike gang member, kind of way. She could see his large hand holding the side of the armoire and her eyes followed it to his strong biceps, before refocusing on his face. Now, it had a frown on it.

"Who're you?" He asked rudely, making Ruby return the expression.

"Ruby Wolfe," she shot back in a similar tone, making him startle, eyebrow raising. "Free citizen and resident of this house. Definitely not Toni _or_ Fangs." At that, the boy laughed in a deep sound which made her stomach do a flip. He was _hot_. And, unfortunately for her, Ruby had inherited her father's suave ways around attractive people, coupled with her mother's sass. She _knew_ that smartass word vomit would be coming from her mouth without her say so. "Now, I'm tiny, and extremely aware of that fact. But, I'll try and help get this monstrosity down the stairs." The boy's face contorted before he burst into another bout of laughter.

"Alright," he agreed. "Let's switch, I'll brace it better." The boy shifted the armoire once, and then another time, making it stand in an awkward position on the stairs, the narrow space on the side a bit wider.

"Okay, we've got this." Ruby agreed, slowly letting go of the heavy piece. It was standing still. She slipped into the crack on the left, going up the stairs sideways. Halfway up she was met with resistance, though. The boy had apparently had the same idea, making them a bit stuck in the narrow space. Ruby looked up, and not just because he was a step above her. The teen was a fricking giant, towering with at least two heads over her. But, damn, was he a sight for sore eyes. Stripped into a grey wife-beater and dark jeans, his red and black plaid shirt tied around his waist and hair slightly damp from the workout. His dark eyes were curiously looking her over. "I'll just," Ruby began, motioning with her hands before trying to squeeze past his front. "Yeah, like that," she didn't pay much attention to how that could've sounded to an unsuspecting passerby as her chest pressed against the boy's toned stomach while she attempted to squeeze by him. "Sorry," his hands went up, bracing against the armoire and making it shift and sway, sliding off a step with a loud sound.

"Shit." He grabbed onto it, pushing his weight forward and trapping the armoire against the wall and Ruby against it, his toned body like an iron fence.

"Crap, sorry," Ruby looked up, her hands flailing at her sides. They were in an awkward, hug-like position, pressed against one another, locking eyes. "Since we're going to be cozy for a while, I'm Ruby." His eyebrow rose in a perfect motion that made her mouth water.

"Yeah, you mentioned that," his voice was a low grumble, almost a whisper. "I'm Sweet Pea." At that, she lost it, dissolving in a fit of giggles.

"Seriously?" She asked, trying to gather herself, but she was still shaking with laughter. The armoire shifted again, making Sweet Pea curse once more, pressing even further into her. "Sorry. Do they call you Sweets or Pea?" She couldn't stop her mouth.

"They call me Sweet Pea." He told her with finality in his voice.

"They call _me_ awesome." Ruby shot right back, their eyes locking for a second, before both started laughing. The armoire shifted ominously again.

"Damnit." Sweet Pea pushed his forearm against the length of the top part, managing to brace the wooden piece before it could fly down the stairs. "Fangs!" He yelled out over Ruby's head. They waited for a few more tense seconds, still pressed against each other. Ruby shifted a bit, causing Sweet Pea to gasp and move his hips back. But, it had been too late. She'd noticed his issue. Her eyes met his and her lip quirked up.

"I'm flattered." She cheekily told him.

"It's a natural reaction, ankle biter." Sweet Pea shot back with a straight face, but she could still see his cheeks redden due to their close proximity.

"Hah," the girl huffed. "I'm anything but!"

"Alright, short stack, no need to get defensive."

"Oh, shut up you sasquatch!" Ruby tilted her head back, yelling. "Fangs!" Sweet Pea lost his cool again, dissolving into laughter.

"It's not nice to call out another guy's name when we're so cozy, tater tot." He pressed himself forward again, hips meeting her stomach and showing her that he was very much enjoying the moment. Ruby couldn't help the gasp that left her mouth.

"Would you stop with the crappy nicknames, cheese king?" She hissed. "Fangs!" She yelled out again, but there was no reply. Sweet Pea was shaking with laughter, making Ruby finally snap. "You know what? We've got this." She told him. And, before he could stop her, Ruby wriggled to her right, slipping from under him and hurrying up the stairs once she was free of his hard body. The armoire shifted as she practically gave it a hug from above, moving it away from the wall and settling it down from its titled position, Sweet Pea steering from the side.

"We good?" He asked, waiting for a second while gripping the top of the wooden piece as hard as he could.

"I am if you are." Ruby answered from the top. Then, Sweet Pea slowly let go of the top and hurried down the stairs, careful not to touch the huge piece. When he got to the bottom and grasped it, he braced it with a knee.

"Alright, let's do this, shortcake." The push she gave from the top of the stairs almost knocked him over.

* * *

Sweet Pea and Ruby managed to get the armoire not only down the remaining stairs, but also through the hallway and down the next set of steps with minimal bruising on their fingers and the boy's side. The drawers and decorated doors of the piece didn't close well and swung wide whenever the armoire leaned to the side. The first time they realized that problem, Sweet Pea had almost dropped the wooden piece, hissing out a loud curse when a drawer 'bit' his fingers. However, now that the armoire was on the ground floor, Southside Serpents buzzing all around them, they had a few extra hands to help out.

The tall man who'd spoken to Ruby in the driveway had called over three more people and they managed to heft the armoire up and out the front door, right next to the ruined sofa chair. Ruby brushed her hands off, before pushing the stray hair from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Well, that was wild," she commented with a small chuckle, making the men laugh. "I'm going to head up, if you guys have it covered here?"

"Go ahead." The tall man dismissed her and Ruby ran back to the house, taking two steps at a time. She passed two other teenagers in the entrance hall, a girl with dyed hair and a muscular boy with a wide grin on his face. They were carrying some kind of an old antenna, completely rusted.

"Fangs!" Sweet Pea's unforgettable tone rang out when he spotted them, too. So, that was Fangs, Ruby mused, sparing another look at the boy's back. "Where did you go, man? You left me with that monstrosity on the stairs!" Ruby didn't hear the reply as she was already hurrying up the stairs and soon, entering the attic.

It was like a war zone there. Men hauling things from one side to the other, checking what could be used, repaired or repurposed, before sending the useless things down the stairs. She saw her father easily enough, by the window all the way in the back, looking over every item and directing the Serpents what to do with them.

"Dad, hey," Ruby came over, moving out of the way for an old TV to pass. "Where do you need me?"

"Hey, hun," Jo greeted, looking up at her. "FP, Ruby," he introduced to the man standing next to him. "Ruby, FP Jones, the most badass Serpent in here." There were a couple of groans and muted complaints, followed by laughter, coming from the crowd around them.

"It's nice to finally meet you," FP said, offering his hand, before pulling it back and wiping it on his slacks and then extending it again. It was still covered in dust, though. "Gosh, you're the spitting image of your father. Except those eyes." Ruby shook his hand, the strong grip and callouses making her feel right at home.

"Yeah, I have my mom's eyes," she nodded with a smile. "Don't worry about the muck, by the way. I'm in the same boat." She showed him the front of her, previously white, spaghetti strap shirt. It was now covered in dust from the armoire she'd battled earlier.

"Still, you're a girl," FP gave her a smile with a twinkle in his eye. "Gotta be courteous." Laughter rang out from the crowd in the attic again.

"Kiddo, can you get us some food?" Jo asked, directing one of the Serpents to toss some old binders filled with rain-ruined papers.

"The boys downstairs can give you a ride to Pop's, if you want?" FP piped up. "Just ask for Sweet Pea and tell him that I said to take you."

"Oh, we've met." Ruby replied with a nod.

"Oh?" FP frowned. "He didn't get smart with you, did he?"

"I was smart right back, no worries," she grinned, making her father burst into laughter and FP break into a smile. "Alright, any preferences?"

"Food." Most of the Serpents grumbled in agreement. Ruby nodded and bounded off, heading down the stairs. She didn't even think to change her shirt before she found Sweet Pea again.

* * *

 **Now, I'm super curious to hear what you guys thought of this one :D Let me know!**

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 **My thanks goes out to everyone following, favoriting and, especially, reviewing! Also, dear Vulvarity who keeps me in check when I go crazy with my haphazard writing :D**

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 **Reviews:**

 **Valerie:  
Hi hun, happy to hear from you again! :D I'm doing great, what about you? My weekend was super busy, but also fun :D  
I'm glad that you think I'm good at this :D I've been doing it for a while now, so I'm super happy that people are enjoying what I'm thinking up :) Finding the inspiration… Hmmmm… I sometimes re-watch the show or I listen to some of the music that I connect with the canon I'm writing about :) It's a toss-up, really hahahaha  
Here is more about Ruby meeting some of the Serpents :D Hope you enjoyed it! Cheers! :)**

 **top story:  
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter :D  
Ruby is… she's badass, but we'll see how she's going to fit in yet!  
Cheers :D**

 **When I Make It Shine:  
Thanks so much for the review :D  
Lucas Till is super cute! I was a little torn as to who should be my faceclaim… but he seemed to be the perfect fit xD And, he even has the same name as my OC hahahaha  
Ruby is a little ball of cute happiness :) It's only natural that she doesn't appear too threatening… though… we'll get to see more of her badass ways yet! More about her mum will come soon, too :)  
Cheers! :)**

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 **Tell me how you liked it :D**


	4. Rowdy, but nice

**Here is another chapter of Flowers and gemstones for you lot to enjoy! Let me know what you thought :D**

* * *

 **Info:**

 **Rating:** T  
 **Word count:** 4043  
 **Chapter count:** 4/?  
 **Faceclaim:**  
Ruby Wolfe – India Eisley  
Jo Wolfe – Adrian Paul  
Mattie – Elle Fanning  
Lucas Bradshaw – Lucas Till  
Leviathan 'Levi' - Emjay Anthony

* * *

 **Rowdy, but nice**

Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, the neon sign spelled out, flashing in the waning sun. Ruby got off of Sweet Pea's bike, unhooking the spare helmet and tilting her head to the side. The motorcycle ride had been a blast, in all honesty, and had gotten her heart pleasantly racing, like only a tournament usually did. She hadn't let the tall boy know that it had been her first time on a bike, either. She'd played it cool, instead, only struggling as to how to hold on for a mere moment.

"Does everything in Riverdale have a quirky name?" Ruby asked, looking up at her companion. Sweet Pea hung his helmet on the bike handle and turned a little, to look down at her.

"I have no idea what you mean," he smirked knowingly. Ruby huffed. "Seriously, your name is Ruby Wolfe. How is that _not_ quirky? Enlighten me." His smirk was positively smug.

"Wow, breaking out the thesaurus," Sweet Pea's lips pulled into a frown. "I'm used to being the weird named one," she shrugged, following him towards the small, old-school style diner. "No Red Riding Hood jokes." Her finger rose in warning.

"Bummer. I had one at the ready," Sweet Pea quipped back, making Ruby chuckle. He got to the door before her, pushing it towards the inside and holding it for her to pass. Chivalry, apparently, wasn't dead among bikers. Ruby shot him a smile and entered. The inside smelled of burgers, fries and sugar. It was very old-school and she immediately fell in love with the place. There weren't many people inside, only a group of giggling girls in the far-right corner and a kid with a beanie sitting alone in his booth on the other side, laptop open in front of him. "C'mon." Sweet Pea called her away from staring at the interior, examining the 'ice cream' sign, and Ruby obliged, walking over to the counter. They both slipped onto the barstools there, the girl staring up at the menu overhead.

"So, anything good here?" She asked the tall biker.

"Everything's good here," he instantly shot back. "The guys have a regular burger order, so I'll get those. What do you want?"

"Chicken. What's good that has chicken?" Ruby squinted a bit, making out the fine print under every meal that detailed the ingredients. "Ooooh, that one has blue cheese!"

"The Blue Burger Special? It's pretty good," Sweet Pea agreed, looking at the board, too. As they deliberated on options, with or without fries, which sides they could get and if they needed a dessert, as well, a heavy black man wandered out from the back.

"How can I help you kids?" He asked in a fairly friendly tone. Ruby turned to Sweet Pea and he took charge instantly, listing off a tall order of about two dozen burgers with their proper sides and extra ingredients.

"Jesus," Ruby remarked, eyes wide. "It's like the periodic table, but in burgers." Sweet Pea grinned.

"Your turn, cupcake." She opted not to engage him regarding the ridiculous nicknames.

"One Blue Burger Special with fries, extra ketchup and the Chef Recommendation, also with fries." Ruby decided on, figuring that she should trust in the chef. The black man nodded.

"Any drinks or desserts?" He asked and Sweet Pea listed a few desserts off the top of his head, pausing only once. Ruby figured that she'd let him take the charge there, as he had already ordered something with chocolate which she planned on snatching up. Chocolate was her thing, one hundred percent. "Alright, that will take around twenty minutes. Takeaway?" The server asked.

"Yes, please," Ruby replied. "Along with instructions as to how to carry that on a _motorcycle._ " She glared half-heartedly at her companion. Ruby had wanted to take her father's Mustang, but Sweet Pea had insisted on going on a bike.

"No need, I know how to carry an order on a _bike_ ," he shot back at her in a grumble. "Don't worry your pretty little head over it, munchkin." The server looked between them, before nodding and going into the back again to prepare their order, choosing not to enter the tension-filled stare down.

"Oh, and will we be losing half of it on the way?" Ruby shot back.

"Never lost a single burger or pizza slice. That was Fangs." Sweet Pea answered with a smug smirk. Ruby perked up instantly.

"Please elaborate." She grinned wolfishly at him and he obliged, telling the story of Fangs, whom she'd briefly been introduced to before they'd left, and how he had raised the pizza above his windshield. He'd returned from his food run to the quarry with pepperoni and ketchup all over his leather jacket to be submitted to merciless teasing and a promise never to let him do a food run on his bike again.

The order came at exactly twenty minutes since they settled in, chatting about various things. Ruby found Sweet Pea surprisingly nice company. She asked a bit about South High and things to do for fun on the other side of the tracks. And, in exchange, she answered all of his curious questions about her move and her life back in Annapolis. So, when the black man, who she then knew was the owner, Pop Tate, came from the back with two large bags filled with food, Ruby was a bit sad to go. She paid with a credit card, before Sweet Pea managed to get his wallet out and faced his disgruntled expression with a grin.

"Come now, you guys are working for us. It's only polite to feed you, no?" She didn't notice the look of shock on Pop Tate's face as he ran the card through the machine.

"What are we, stray dogs?" Sweet Pea grumbled angrily.

"Not at all," Ruby shook her head, taking one of the bags. "But, it would hurt my pride as your employer's daughter if I wasn't a proper host." She ignored the mutter of displeasure under his breath and took back her card, waving goodbye to the owner of the small diner and leaving, Sweet Pea on her heels.

* * *

When they arrived back to the Wolfe house they found most of the guests and their host at the back. FP and Jo had managed to dislodge the doors to the porch, which apparently hadn't been opened in the last twenty or so odd years. Then, they'd cleaned up the wooden platform at the back of the house which was clearly newer than the rest of the home and brought a large table out from the kitchen. Jo made a joke about his mother insisting to install it and FP readily picked it up. The biker retold the memory of Jo's grandfather blowing a fuse when his daughter in law had arranged for workers to add this extra piece to his 'perfect house'.

And, soon enough, Ruby found herself sitting next to Sweet Pea and a short girl with dyed hair who had introduced herself as Toni. On the opposite side sat the elusive Fangs, along with someone named Gorgonhead, whom Ruby knew she wouldn't forget anytime soon. He had a head full of rather memorable dreadlocks, after all. And, according to Fangs he'd had that kind of a hairstyle for ages, hence the nickname.

Sweet Pea proved to be rather silent when there were more people around. He only piped up to add a biting remark to a story Fangs was telling or to stop Toni from delving too deep into the details of different jobs they'd been on. But, Ruby was glad to be the listener, instead of the conversation starter, for once. By the time half of their food was gone she was already joining Toni in teasing Fangs. And, when her wrapper was completely empty, she found herself laughing at every angry sentence Sweet Pea had to offer.

At the end of the rowdy night, she was a bit sad to see the Southside Serpents climb onto their bikes and head out. Ruby and Jo gave the gang one final wave from the iron gates, watching them ride off into the darkness.

"So, what did you think of them?" Jo asked, pushing the gates closed.

"Rowdy, but rather nice," Ruby replied, helping lock up. "They weren't what I was expecting."

"That's FP for you, I guess," Jo shrugged. "That guy's a good one. Just… unfortunate family circumstances. The Serpents used to be a lot of trouble and quite a bit of drugs. These days, they're mostly only in the grey area." He slung his arm around Ruby's shoulders, pulling her to his side as they walked back to the house. Chili was already asleep under the coffee table in the living room, exhausted from all the fun he'd had that day having been a favorite attraction for the gangsters. Ruby rubbed his head and kissed his nose goodnight, before giving her father a hug and heading up the stairs. She passed the steps which led to the attic and remembered meeting Sweet Pea right there with a small smile. He was certainly an interesting character. Angry and moody, but interesting. And, he had quite a bit of humor under all that trigger-happy personality when one managed to poke the right buttons. Ruby decided that she liked him. Maybe she liked him best out of all the Serpents she'd met that day. After all, Ruby was a sucker for things with character and Sweet Pea had plenty of it.

* * *

Calling Mattie to report the newest happenings at the Wolfe house had waited until the early morning hours. Ruby had rung the girl at around eight, after she'd had her morning run and shower, only to wake her friend up. Yet, Mattie's face appeared on the screen of Ruby's phone regardless, blonde curls messy and eyes bleary, demanding a detailed report. And, she'd gotten exactly that.

Ruby spoke about FP, the alcoholic King of Southside Serpents and his gang of men and women of all ages. She told Mattie about Tall Boy, a scary looking old biker who had hair longer than her own and owned a body shop. Ruby also spoke about Sweet Pea and his mixture of push and pull with her in every way possible. Mattie had remarked how she wanted pictures of the tall, dark and dangerous, as he'd been nicknamed by her. But, Ruby had evaded that skillfully, going on to talk about Toni, Fangs and Gorgon, finally finishing with how they'd managed to get the attic semi under control.

"So, they're coming back today?" Mattie asked, now holding a mug of coffee in her hand and looking quite awake. Ruby nodded, standing in front of her boxes filled with clothes. "Good, snap me a picture of each of those people. I wanna know them by face."

"What for?" Ruby frowned, looking down at the screen with her friend's face on it. Mattie was moving through the small apartment where she lived with her older sister.

"Ruby, superwoman, I love you… But your descriptive skills are on the negative end of the scale. I _need_ visuals. You know me, I'm a visual person. Fuel my fantasies a little." Both girls laughed and Ruby agreed to snap some secret photos of the people in question.

"What do you think about this?" the petite girl asked, pulling out a pair of washed out denim shorts from her box labeled 'bottoms'. She placed her phone carefully on the dresser, so that is was standing up and moved back, holding the shorts to her hips.

"Damn girl, you got even more muscles during the summer!" Mattie praised from her end. "So, what are we doing with those shorts? Seducing someone?"

"Battling the heat and going to some drive-in theatre with boy from the other side of the town." Ruby shot back, struggling to get the bottom part of her outfit on. She easily buttoned the shorts and then turned in a circle, showing them off to her friend.

"Approved," Mattie told her with a nod. "But, do get some thigh-high socks for the drive-in. It can get cold watching a movie like that."

"Personal experience?" Teased Ruby.

"Oh, yeah," Mattie was never one to shy away from teasing. She preferred to meet the jibes head-on. "I went last year with Connor the douche and almost froze to death, you know. Don't share my pain and be prepared instead." Ruby looked at the screen then and the two girls started singing at the same time. The tune was a familiar number from Lion King, sung by Scar.

"Hey, Disney on ice, are you going to toss something at me for entering?" Jo's voice came with a knock from the door to Ruby's room. She and Mattie burst into laughter as Ruby grabbed a random shirt and threw it on. She opened the door for her father.

"Not today." She promised.

"Good, because FP just called and told me that the crew will be here in a few," Jo's eyes went to the phone where Mattie's face was eagerly looking at him. "Hey, Matt." He greeted.

"Hey, hot papa." Mattie and Jo had a weird relationship. At first, the former Navy SEAL had been against his daughter being friends with such a wild girl. But, after a very awkward dinner and a game of competitive Counter Strike, he'd changed his mind. While he still didn't like the fact that Mattie thought pot was a wake-up snack or her love of the night club scene, her odd ways had grown on him. Mattie was a force of nature, free spirited and very artsy, always marching to the beat of her own drum. For someone like his daughter, who'd grown up in a military household, she was the perfect friend to get her to let loose a bit. So, Jo and Mattie had their own weird dynamics, where he didn't mind being called 'hot papa' and she didn't bug him about telling her off when she went overboard.

"How's Clarice?" Jo asked conversationally, leaning onto the numerous boxes in his daughter's room.

"Sis's fine. Her college classes are starting soon and she's a bit of a mess about that," Mattie's arms waved around as she talked, as usual. "She's majoring in bio, can you believe it?"

"Well, she was always good at it." Jo shrugged. The Wolfe family had gotten close with Mattie's dysfunctional one during their few short months together. Mattie lived only with her older sister, Clarice, who had adopted her as soon as she'd turned eighteen. Then, she'd proceeded to work three jobs and taken a year off studying in order to support the both of them. When Jo Wolfe entered the picture, he became a person to talk to and someone to seek parental advice from. Ruby couldn't count all the nights Mattie had stayed over at their place when her sister had to work or was otherwise busy. The Wolfe family dinners had gotten two more members, Clarice and Jo getting along swimmingly. After moving house again, they'd stayed in touch, the latter promising any kind of support he could give to the young college kid. He'd told Ruby one evening that he thought Clarice was one of the best human beings he'd ever met. Sacrificing her own dream in order to make sure her sister's came true was an enormous thing in his book.

"Dad, I need to pick a top and Mattie and I have something _else_ to talk about." Ruby grumbled when she realized that Jo wasn't leaving on his own anytime soon.

"Rude, Ruby-pie," Jo returned with a hurt expression. "I'll talk to you soon, Matt."

"Bye, hot papa!" The blonde shouted at his retreating back, getting a wave over the shoulder. "You just successfully threw out a Navy SEAL. Rejoice, superwoman."

"Oh, can't you see the joy on my face?" Ruby deadpanned, turning to her 'tops' box. "Now, help me. I need something nice, but not date material." Mattie shook her head.

"How about that Hard Rock Café shirt that I edited while you were still here? The London one?" Mattie's voice faded away, as the girl was probably getting dressed herself.

"The navy boyfriend tee? Won't it clash with the denim?" Ruby asked, digging into another box.

"Nah, just put on the black sneakers and wear some navy thigh-high socks and you'll be fine," replied her friend. "I'm going like this." Ruby surfaced from the boxes to squint at her phone screen. Mattie had always had a style that hugely differed from hers. While Ruby preferred comfortable and useful, her friend was a fashion and color at the front kind of person. Right then she was standing in front of the camera in a pale blue sundress with signature Tardis on her chest, spelling out 'Anybody remotely interesting is mad, in some way or another'. As always, with her blonde hair in natural curls around her head and a bit of makeup, she looked positively stunning.

"Is that Classic Who?" Ruby asked, diving back into her box. She didn't need to tell Mattie how good the girl looked. Her friend knew it and was quite proud of it.

"Oh!" Mattie exclaimed, wiping off an imaginary tear. "How sweetly I've corrupted you, young Padawan!" Ruby had had the 'Mattie introduction to being a nerd' which consisted of one too many hours of Netflix and explanations about different theories and multiple possibilities. She spoke fluid nerd now and was pretty proud of herself.

"Alright, got it," Ruby pulled out a navy shirt with the Hard Rock Café logo on it and switched it with the random tee she'd grabbed earlier. She spun in a circle, letting Mattie take a good look. Her friend had decided to add some flare to Ruby's wardrobe. And, with her permission a number of tees and pants had been cut, bedazzled, decorated with studs and spikes or just plain shredded or bleached. Mattie had even managed to get Ruby to allow some proper painting on her clothes. So, the girl had a number of completely original tops that had a design made by her best friend and a set of fabric paints.

"Looks perfect to me." Mattie approved. The navy shirt from London had gotten a DIY shredded back, showing off Ruby's figure nicely and adding a rock touch to it which had been missing, in both of the girls' opinion.

"Alright, talk tomorrow chat today, care bear?" Ruby asked.

"You know it, superred." And the call cut off. Ruby stood in her room for a second, before sighing and going to her bed. On the old covers from her Annapolis bed there was an outfit for the day. Summer denim overalls which Mattie had cut off at the knees. Now they reached Ruby's mid-thigh and she thought they weren't too practical anymore. But, she had no choice. Everything else she had managed to find in her clothes boxes was too fancy. Ruby changed once more, slipping on a grey shirt and the overalls and tied a pair of sneakers securely. With her long hair up in a ponytail, she was ready to work. With one last look at her room, half-decorated and looking crowded with all the boxes, Ruby closed the door and went downstairs. She forced herself to stop wishing that Mattie was there with her, like she always did when they moved.

* * *

Working around the old Wolfe family home ate up Ruby's time in a flash. Her arms were sore and her forehead sweaty from all the boxes and furniture she'd been helping get in and out of the place when Archie shot her a text. She took her phone out when the box she'd been carrying finally found its home in Jo's room. And, when she read it, she cursed under her breath. Archie wanted to know if he could come pick her up in ten minutes. Ruby quickly returned a text, begging for fifteen minutes, instead.

"Dad!" She ran out of his room, startling Toni and nearly running into the wall that was Sweet Pea. They were carrying an old makeup mirror desk which looked beyond help.

"Break, break," the purple haired girl asked breathlessly and Sweet Pea obliged, placing his end down. Toni leaned forward on the desk, trying to get some air into her lungs.

"What?!" Jo's voice sounded from below.

"I'm leaving in fifteen!" Ruby replied, making Toni wince. She offered an apologetic smile to the girl.

"Try and tell it to Martians next time, don't think they heard you!" Sweet Pea snorted with laughter, but quickly composed himself. His expression changed at Toni's next words.

"Got a hot date?" The purple haired Serpent wanted to know.

"He is kind of hot and it is a semi-date," Ruby shrugged. "But, it's not a date _date._ " She'd become quite comfortable with Toni during the short time they'd spent together. The girl was really easy to talk to and she reminded Ruby of Mattie a tad.

"You keep telling yourself that, girl," Toni smirked knowingly. "A hot guy and a night out is a date in my book." She laughed.

"Got your breath back?" Sweet Pea grumbled with an irritated look on his face. Ruby looked up at him.

"Crap, I need to shower!" And she ran off to her room. Toni's eyes trailed after her, watching the door slam shut.

"What's got you in such a mood?" She asked her friend and picked up the desk again. Sweet Pea did, as well, and they headed for the stairs.

"Nothing." He grumbled back. But, Toni had known Sweet Pea for years. She knew exactly when to push her luck and press all the sensitive buttons to his volcano temper.

"She's got a date, so what?" The purple haired girl huffed.

"She's been here for two seconds and already has a date." Sweet Pea growled back. He looked behind him, down the stairs, carefully choosing where to step. He'd already had an encounter with a number of rotten spots and almost lost his head.

"Jealous?" Toni was smirking, he knew, despite the breathless tone.

"Not at all," Sweet Pea huffed under his breath. "In the end, tater tot's a Northsider. She should hang out with the rest of the privileged brats."

"That's not what you said when you told me how she tasered a bunch of Ghoulies in the school parking lot." Toni was spot-on, as usual. Sweet Pea cursed her observational skills in his head.

"She's a bit badass, so what?" He tried to salvage some of his dignity. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs and Sweet Pea placed the desk down, giving Toni a breather again. "Ruby is a Northsider, regardless of what she does with a taser. Look at this place," he waved his bulky arms around. "It reeks of privilege." Toni's eyes slid from the numerous expensive porcelain dishware in cupboards, across the multiple boxes and furniture the Wolfe duo had brought with them from Annapolis before settling on the table in front of her. That make-up mirror and table would've been repurposed on the Southside and Jo and Ruby were just throwing it away. Toni sighed.

"Sure, she's privileged. But, Ruby's still cool." Sweet Pea huffed. As if on cue, a car horn tooted from the front of the house and Ruby came running down the stairs a second later, dressed in shorts and a fancy shirt. Sweet Pea found himself hoping that she froze and got sick or something.

"Bye guys," Ruby waved. "See you tomorrow!"

"Have fun on your date!" Toni supplied cheekily after her. Ruby turned, walking backwards, her wet hair swishing around her shoulders.

"Not a date!" She whisper-yelled and shushed the purple haired Serpent. Then, she grinned wide and left through the front door, jumping two steps at a time in order to hop into a truck in her driveway.

"You were saying?" Sweet Pea asked Toni in an 'I told you so' voice. The girl didn't reply, but she had a faraway look on her pretty face. "I'll bet you ten bucks she forgets your number as soon as she gets a few new ones from Riverdale High."

* * *

 **That's all folks!**

 **Are you guys excited for the new season? Would you like me to follow the canon with this story? Or go all AU crazy? Thoughts?**

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 **My thanks goes out to everyone who followed, favorites and reviewed the story! You guys keep me writing :D**

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 **Reviews:**

 **Jitsukawa: Thank you so much for the feedback! I always enjoy hearing from my readers :) I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter :D I promise to try and keep my updates constant, but I never know when inspiration is going to dwindle xD For now, I'm on a roll!  
Cheers!**

 **Valerie: Hi! Hi! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story :D I was trying my best to keep the chapter funny. I feel like Sweet Pea and Ruby needed an epic beginning to their story hahahaha So, yeah, I'm going with an embarrassing start :P I'm happy the you guys enjoyed it :)  
Hmmmm hmm hmmmm FP is Jo's old buddy… We'll see how Ruby gets along with him yet :D  
Ruby still has a rocky road ahead of her, that's a promise :P  
Talk to you soon, my doggo says hi too :D**

 **HellToTheNo123: I'm super glad that you're having fun reading this story! I promise more hilarity between Ruby and Sweet Pea coming soon :D Cheers!**

 **VKScarlett: Thanks for the wonderful feedback! I'm glad that you're having fun with the story, because I'm having a total blast writing it :D The one-shots were so fun to write, too! I'm happy that you liked them :D Though, Sweet Pea and Ruby certainly have a long road ahead of them before they get to that cozy stage hahahahaha Looking forward to hearing what you thought of this one. Cheers!**

 **SaltySerpent: Oh you lovely creature you! I was super happy to get all of your notifications, follows, faves, reviews and all that! You definitely made my day and pushed me to finish this chapter as soon as I could xD So, I'll be replying in order, from chapter 1:  
Ruby is just a little cutie with a lot of sass and badass hahahaha I promise to try and keep her as lovable as I can and not follow the Riverdale 'and this person went nuts' trope xD Chili is urghhhh I need one of him… Such an obedient, cute little pup :) There is a similar dog in our neighborhood, so I'm basing him off of that cutie pie pooch :D The Wolfe homeeeee oooh it's my personal project… I love imagining houses and decorating them in my head… Forgive me if the descriptions get too lengthy sometimes xD I just have a huge layout of details in my head hahahaha Jo is life 3 I seriously adore him.  
Ruby definitely has a bit of badass to her name hahahaha She's not invincible, but, she's pretty cool :) I figured, a Northie like her had to have some backbone to go to South High. Chili and Jo are definitely one of my favorite things to write about xD  
Sweet Pea… tall dark and HOT I'd say xD I really loved messing around and exploring his character… Though, he can still be a lil shit sometimes xD Fangs just… drifted off because he was distracted xD In the end, he definitely enjoyed the giggles of leaving SP to deal with the mess on the stairs xD Ruby and sass just go together for me :P She's a little spitfire, that one. Cheryl and Ruby are definitely planned to have a meeting and a bit of a showdown. Not sure how soon… but soon!  
I'm looking forward to hearing from you again! Cheers! :D**

 **When I Make It Shine: Thanks so much for the lovely review! I was super happy to receive the feedback :D Ruby is definitely the sass master and she had to mouth off to SP xD They're just wired to clash like that… I'm glad that you're enjoying the show and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter :D  
Cheers!**

 **Guest27: Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and I'll be looking forward to hearing what you think about the new events in the future! Cheers!**

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 **Let me know how you liked this, guys :D**


	5. Ah-hah, honey honey

**In the spirit of new content in the fandom… I'm updating early! I hope you guys enjoy Sweet Pea being a 'lil shit' and 'a conflicted piece of hotness' as my dear fellow author Vulvarity put it so colorfully xD Thanks for the beta-read, hun!**

* * *

 **Info:**

 **Rating:** T **  
Word count:** 4118 **  
Chapter count:** 5/? **  
Faceclaim:  
** Ruby Wolfe – India Eisley  
Jo Wolfe – Adrian Paul  
Mattie – Elle Fanning

 **Yes, I am complete Abba trash with this title but damn, does it fit!**

* * *

 **Ah-hah, honey honey**

The Twilight Drive-In was not quite what Ruby had expected. She'd entered the truck, only to see Fred driving and after an awkward conversation about Archie's lack of a permit, where the girl and his father laughed about it, the three worked out an easy plan. Fred would drive to his office, since he needed to get some work done, still, and Ruby would take the wheel from there. At the end of the movie, they were supposed to call Fred and see if he was done, in order to pick him up. Then, the Andrews could drop her off home before calling it a night. It all seemed like a solid plan to the teens. Both of them were glad that they wouldn't be left to beg Archie's friend Jughead to get them a couple of chairs once Fred drove off.

When they got to the Drive-In, Ruby took her time looking around. She'd never had a proper date, much less an occasion which would take her to a place like that. The only movies she'd watched was with Mattie or her father, either in the girl's room or at the cinema. And then, Mattie had insisted on huddling together in a couple's seat like two idiots, because she'd been too curious as to what booking a space like that meant for her own good. Afterwards, it had become tradition for the two girls to sit in a loveseat at the cinema, just for kicks. But, the Twilight Drive-In was definitely not a cinema.

Archie had carefully instructed Ruby where to drive the family truck, which she only struggled with for a bit due to the stick that was a tad different from her trusty old Mustang. And, once they pulled into the southernmost part of Riverdale, he directed her to get off Main Street and enter the small parking lot in front of a large screen. Sure enough, there was a sign which spelled out that evening's showing, Mamma Mia, right in front of the turn. As Ruby parked the truck, turning the front towards the small booth in the back with drinks and popcorn like Archie requested, she had a chance to look around some more. In essence, it was a parking lot. There were a few more cars and a couple of motorcycles in the back, people buzzing around before the showing. But, other than the booth and a large screen on the other side, it was just that, a parking lot.

"Popcorn?" Archie asked, nodding towards the booth.

"Oh, yeah." Ruby eagerly agreed and the two friends walked over, Archie instantly perking up when he saw the server behind the counter.

"Hey, Jug!" he greeted the boy in an odd beanie, which Ruby was certain seemed familiar to her for some reason. "This is Ruby, who I told you about. The girl from the Wolfe house," the boy behind the counter examined her with a surprisingly analytical look in his pale eyes. But, he didn't seem hostile. "Ruby, Jughead."

"The one who's writing a book?"

"Novel." Both boys instantly corrected.

"Right," Ruby nodded sheepishly. "It's very nice to meet you, Jughead. I've heard a lot about you," the boy gave his friend a look which seemed accusing, more than anything. "I promise that I pressed him for details and that everything he told me was good." The girl tried to diffuse the tension.

"Um, sure, yeah," Jughead sounded a little awkward. "Welcome to Riverdale." He didn't seem to mean it. Regardless, Ruby chose to take the high road there.

"It would be awesome if you could join us for the movie, unless you're working the whole evening?" She asked, looking between him and Archie. "I got only one side of the story, after all," Ruby gave Jughead a mischievous smile. "I'd love to hear some embarrassing tales about this one." She nudged Archie with her elbow and, instantly, the atmosphere changed. Jughead gave her a smirk right back.

"I'll see what I can do," he promised. "What will it be, guys? You're holding up the line." Despite Archie telling Ruby that it was unlikely that Jughead would join them, the beanie-wearing teen did. They huddled together, with the girl in the middle, in the back of the truck, a few buckets of popcorn in between them and a blanket over their feet. While Archie had actually been paying attention to the movie, as he hadn't seen it before, Jughead and Ruby took the time to whisper and get to know each other a bit better. Unsurprisingly, the boy had plenty of funny stories about his childhood friend, making the girl giggle when she wasn't singing along to the soundtrack.

By the end of the evening, Ruby had the awkward boy's number memorized in her phone with a promise to hang out at Pop's sometime soon. While they didn't have a lot in common, they did realize that there was a long list of movies both had watched and desperately needed to discuss with someone. All in all, it had been a fun evening for her, despite it definitely not being a date in the end. Ruby, in all honesty, had preferred it that way. She liked Archie well enough, but she wasn't one to dive into anything romantic before getting to know a person better. He seemed only interested in hanging out platonically, which was right up her alley.

Ruby had always gotten along with boys better than girls. When she counted the schools she'd attended, she realized that her only real girl friend was Mattie. The teen in question wasn't exactly girly material, either. Ruby suspected that she had her father and their mutual obsession with martial arts to thank for her ease with befriending boys, even though Jo had voiced his worries over only boys coming by their home on a number of occasions.

Mattie was awake when Ruby got home from the Drive-In and called the girl after texting her half a dozen questions to make their conversation easier. There was just something lost in the voice messages and typing for her.

"So, spill. How was it?" Mattie's voice was eager, even though she had dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep.

"We watched Mamma Mia!" Ruby eagerly supplied and the two girls started singing to each other, hitting some painfully shrill notes that made Jo pop his head into the kitchen to check on the situation. When he saw that it was just a facetime call, he retreated again, not wanting to disturb the two. And then, Ruby started telling Mattie all about Archie and the odd new character in her life, Jughead.

* * *

The last day of the Southside Serpents working at the Wolfe house came all too soon for Ruby. She'd built a nice friendship with Toni, a strange combination of pun exchanges with Fangs and the usual push and pull with Sweet Pea. Ruby had spent more than a few hours with Toni in her room, deciding on color schemes, furniture positions and various decorations together. While the purple haired Serpent wasn't a fan of the girly setup the room had been steered towards, she was still a huge help. She had a whole bunch of fashion and DIY magazine subscriptions on her phone, showing Ruby various options which could change her room in different ways. Mattie was ecstatic to see all the new ideas and demanded that she meet Toni one day, hopefully in person. All of their brainstorming on decoration ideas got FP to send Sweet Pea to hunt down the girls more than a few times with a disgruntled expression.

Fangs and Ruby, on the other hand, had a different dynamic. While Toni was the perfect design and clothing advisor, the boy turned out to be gossip central. Ruby had always known that most boys had an affiliation for sharing funny stories, but he was in a whole league of his own. Fangs had plenty of stories from his time with Toni and Sweet Pea as kids which he was eager to tell. By the third day of hauling stuff around the house and painting walls, the two had a number of inside jokes which pissed off Sweet Pea to oblivion once he figured them out. That was without even mentioning Fangs' love of bad puns. If there was a person who could make Ruby crack up at a bad joke in a single second, it was definitely him. Her retaliation had required a bit of Googling, but pretty soon they had been separated when it came to carrying heavy items around due to their tendency to lose their grip on them while laughing.

The only thing Ruby regretted over those few weeks was not spending more time with Sweet Pea. He always seemed to look for an escape when they were with other Serpents, so that he wouldn't have to talk to her. The few times they'd been forced together by a food run or Ruby directing traffic in the house their conversation had been a bit strained. For the life of her, the teen didn't know what she'd done to cause that kind of reaction from the tall boy. At times he would be doing their usual push and pull, piling on ridiculous nicknames that made fun of her height, and then, he would be frowning angrily down at her and grunting out one-word answers to her eager questions. Ruby was definitely miffed. But, also, intrigued. She couldn't help her own curiosity sometimes. She liked things with character, after all.

When the last day of the Serpents working at the house arrived, Ruby was on a mission. She didn't know if she would see some of the bikers again and she wasn't sure what kind of a situation she would be facing at school with the younger Serpents. Ruby definitely wasn't going to be pledging a gang and she'd already heard from numerous sources that South High was very segregated. So, she remembered Mattie's request and started her work as soon as the bikers arrived.

"Hey, Toni," Ruby entered the kitchen where the purple haired Serpent had made herself at home with a cup of coffee. "Look good for the camera!" And she snapped a photo as soon as Toni gave a soft smile.

"Am I finally getting a contact picture?" Asked the girl.

"Sure!" And Ruby bounded off with a small wave. She'd already tricked FP and Tall Boy into snapping a photo of them, which they'd laughed off. Now, she had an image of the Serpent King and his second in command standing side by side at their bikes, looking quite intimidating. Next, she needed Gorgon, Fangs and the dreaded Sweet Pea. She was honestly fearing the last name on her list. With the quicksilver temper he had, her phone had a fifty percent chance of flying out a window or something. Gorgonhead was easy enough, the teen eager to make a scary face and point at the camera like Uncle Sam.

"Fangs," Ruby addressed the boy, sneaking up behind him as he was attempting to open a drawer of an old wardrobe. "I'd offer my advice on that," she pointed to his current problem. "but telling a demolitionist how to do his job is destructive criticism." There was a moment of silence before the two completely lost it. Ruby took the chance to snap a quick picture of Fangs trying to gather himself in front of the tall antique wardrobe.

"Oh, man," the biker didn't even notice. "How am I going to live without you when the job's done?" He asked, shaking his head.

"You can always text me and we can hang out?" Ruby helpfully supplied. She saw Fangs' eyes go to the side, avoiding her gaze. That was a telltale sign that something was wrong. But, when he just shrugged and nodded, Ruby decided to give him some time and space to figure it out. "C'mon, give me your phone," the girl asked and Fangs obliged. "Here, text me whenever so I have your contact, too." She smiled at him and bounded off, looking for a certain tall biker. The short teen didn't see the way Fangs' eyes stayed on her back until it vanished behind a corner, almost sad.

* * *

Sweet Pea was glad to get out of the Wolfe house. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the home in any way. He just didn't think that he could stand Ruby being around him any longer. In the short few weeks, which seemed like months to him, Sweet Pea had worked beside her on numerous items in her new home. She'd been nothing but kind to him, he had to admit. Nothing but nice. However, a single glance at her clothing, the house which surrounded them and the items they were carrying out had Sweet Pea's vision going red and his brain muddled with anger.

Ruby Wolfe was nice enough, sure. But, regardless of her personality she was a rich Northsider in the end. While she might be slumming it down with the bikers who were working on her property during summer vacation, Sweet Pea knew how their little 'friendship' would end. She'd shown him that by repeatedly ditching cleanup in order to hang out with her little Northside boy-toy. As soon as Ruby started school at Riverdale High, she would become one of those girls. Head held high, daddy buying her expensive things and occasionally wandering over to Southside for a thrill. She'd forget that Toni had put hours into helping her pick things out for her room. She wouldn't remember that Fangs had lent her a hand in carrying almost all of her belongings upstairs while exchanging jokes. She certainly wouldn't recall him driving her for a food run on his bike in the afternoon. Sweet Pea reminded himself a number of times that Ruby was a privileged kid. It was best not to form any kind of attachment. Except maybe to her dog. He could be attached to Chili all he wanted, because the pooch was a wonder.

On the last day of their work at the Wolfe house Sweet Pea's suspicions were confirmed, though. With an eager look on her face, Ruby had told all the bikers how they could take whatever item they wanted from the maybe or discarded pile, like some kind of a charity dump. He didn't need her charity, much less her trash. Sweet Pea hadn't taken _a single thing_ from the Wolfe house, despite eyeing a couple of old bike parts from the garage longingly. Instead, his temper had flared and he'd sat on his bike, listening to Fangs and Toni talking excitedly about repurposing some of the items and restoring others.

It wasn't that Sweet Pea didn't like doing that. In fact, he'd always been good at fixing things. As a young boy he'd helped his father with numerous old bikes and cars. Then, he'd somehow gotten roped into a number of DIY projects by Toni. She'd been surprised at how good he was with his hands and sworn to secrecy by Sweet Pea with a menacing threat of bodily harm. To that day he still enjoyed working on old things. There was just something about working on an old carburetor that made his fiery temper cool down. He could spend hours playing with a piece, figuring out what exactly was wrong and tailoring odd parts in order to get it back into action. However, Sweet Pea was above charity from a rich Northsider. He wouldn't take a _single_ thing.

He got pissed when he saw Toni restoring an old lamp Ruby had personally given her, despite wanting it for herself according to the purple-haired girl. It was an antique which looked pretty darn good when the female Serpent was done painting it with glassware-friendly substances. It now sat on her school desk at her trailer, a constant reminder for Sweet Pea of the dump it had been taken from. Fangs, on the other hand, hadn't said no to acquiring a new kitchen table for his abuela, calling it the score of the summer. Sweet Pea had stopped going to his place for dinner, the telltale dark wood of the charity item making his blood pressure skyrocket. He wouldn't be a pity case for some rich Northsider.

Yet, Sweet Pea still hadn't gotten rid of the small piece of paper with a few digits on it. He had found it in the pocket of his denim vest with the Serpents logo on the back when he'd been checking the contents before putting it in the washer. Apparently, Ruby had managed to slip the small note with her number on it and a message to ring her sometime at some point. It wasn't that Sweet Pea hadn't tried to get rid of it. In fact, he'd tossed it in the trash bin in his kitchen a number of times, only to fish it out later. Now, it sat in his math book, a thing he'd gotten from one of the Serpents' juniors for his sophomore year at South High. Frankly, Sweet Pea didn't know what to do with the number. Or, if he _wanted_ to do anything with it.

* * *

Days passed rather quickly for Ruby. Before she even knew it, her father was pulling into their driveway with a whole bunch of fireworks in the back of their old Mustang, singing a happy tune. One would think that, being a former army man, he wouldn't enjoy the 4th of July. However, ever since Ruby was aware of herself, Jo became utterly giddy during the holiday. He bought so many fireworks that they barely managed to set them all off in their backyard during the night. True enough, he jumped whenever someone else used their own colorful ammunition, his hand flying to his side, where his gun used to be. Yet, he still set up his own arsenal and set it off with complete glee.

"Are we going to war?" Ruby asked, leaning in the doorway and watching her father jump around the car, deciding which monstrosity to take out first. He looked up at her and smiled wide.

"Oh, we're going to _war_ , honey," Jo shot back. "I'm going to announce to the whole town that I'm back in my all former glory." Ruby shook her head, but walked down the front steps regardless, Chili following. He eagerly rushed to the car, sniffing and trying to see if anything inside was meant for him. Jo took out a ball from the front seat, showed it to the eager dog and then chucked it as far as he could towards Fox Forest. Chili tore after it, wheezing in happiness.

"You've unleashed the monster." Ruby chuckled, grabbing one box of fireworks and taking it to the porch.

"He likes it and we both know it." Jo retaliated, carrying his own load of colorful tubes.

"You're an unleashed monster, as well." His daughter shot back with a grin.

"Says the girl who scared all the kids away from our building on Halloween." So, Ruby went a little crazy on Halloween. So what? It was normal to do so. It was completely normal to scare kids during the holiday. It wasn't her fault that the youngest ones couldn't take it and ran back to their mothers, crying. It wasn't her fault that the others were cowards and couldn't pass her maze of horror doom and get to the good candy.

"They were spineless," Ruby grumbled. "You're supposed to scare them on Halloween." Jo sighed as they continued to carry fireworks to the porch.

"Not enough to cry," he was using his fatherly voice. "And certainly not enough to make them avoid our home on their second run."

"Hey, you were happy eating all the candy." She shot back.

"That I was," Jo grinned, letting sleeping dogs lie for once. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with my workshop." And he bounced away with a devilish smirk. Ruby slapped her forehead, knowing that her father wasn't up to any good.

* * *

Ruby's suspicions were confirmed when Chili started barking like mad, running at the iron gates of their property that afternoon. She poked her head out of the window, seeing the Sheriff's car parked out front.

"Chili! Be cool!" The girl shouted and rushed down the stairs to greet the policeman. By the time she had the door open, the Sheriff was already walking up the front steps of their porch.

"Ruby, hello," Tom Keller greeted with a friendly smile. "Is Jo around?" He eyed the pile of fireworks on their porch with a wary look. Ruby had a feeling that she knew what this visit was about.

"He's in the shop out back," then, she tried to diffuse the situation. "I swear that they're all legal." When the Sheriff gave her a dubious look, Ruby sighed. "He does this every year. I checked all of them, God's honest truth."

"Where is this shop exactly?" Sheriff Keller asked. Ruby smiled, waving him over and started leading the way. Chili followed them, his new ball in his mouth, slobbering happily.

"Jo's secret shack of wonders." Ruby introduced in a deadpan voice when they reached the small building, similar to a garage, with closed doors and an ominous sound of metal being cut coming from inside.

"God, he hasn't changed at all." Sheriff Keller sighed. Then, he pounded on the door with his fist, making them shake.

"He's worse, if my mom's stories are anything to go by," Ruby laughed. "I'll leave you to it. If you'd like coffee after that, I'll be at the house." She tossed over her shoulder. The last thing she heard before calling Chili to come back with her was the Sheriff asking her father if he was mad. Ruby could answer that question without thinking. Yes, on the 4th of July her father was quite mad.

* * *

Ruby had texted Toni first, asking if the girl had any plans for the holiday. And, she'd gotten a quick reply, as always, saying how the purple haired Serpent was planning on setting off some fireworks down at the quarry with the guys. Regardless, Ruby invited her over if she wanted to hang out later. Toni didn't make any promises, saying that the guys usually brought booze and stayed the night at the quarry, not being sober enough to ride until morning. For some reason, the image of Fangs, Toni and Sweet Pea drunk got Ruby giggling.

Next, the girl texted Archie and the new contact in her phone, Jughead. The former never replied, but the latter told her that he could come over if she wanted to pick him up at Pop's, because he was on foot and the Wolfe house was on the other side of the town. Ruby readily agreed, after yelling to Jo that she was having a friend over for the evening. The man offered only a muffled agreement from his workshop, hammering stopping for a second. So, Ruby grabbed the keys to the Mustang and allowed Chili to hop into the front seat.

Entering Pop's reminded her of all the times she'd gone there with Sweet Pea. She had to open the door herself this time, after all. The teen easily found Jughead on the far left of the small diner, sitting with his laptop open. And, instantly, her memory clicked into place.

"I remember where I know that beanie from!" Ruby exclaimed, sliding into the seat on the other side of Jughead without a proper greeting. He looked over the top of the laptop, face illuminated by the light of his screen.

"Hello to you, too," he sarcastically remarked. "Wait, you know my beanie from somewhere?"

"Yeah, I came here with one of the guys working on our house," Ruby chose to leave Sweet Pea's name out of the whole mess. She'd gotten the feeling that Jughead wasn't a big fan of the biker gang. "I remember thinking that it's a cool beanie when I saw you sitting here." She laughed, shaking her head.

"Oh, um," the boy was as awkward as always. "If you say so." He replied with a small shrug. Ruby nodded.

"Super cool," she told him. "Dad and I were gonna get some burgers for dinner, have you already eaten?"

"Do you really need to ask me if I want food?" Jughead laughed, finally in his element.

"Silly me." Ruby hopped up, waving off his offer to pay for dinner. She just asked him what he wanted and went to the counter to order takeaway.

 **That's all for now folks!**

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 **How did you guys enjoy the premiere? I found Archie's car totally bitchin' and I'm a bit sad about the dog abuse (Poor Hot Dog and poor Vegas!)**

 **Thank you everyone who favorited, followed and especially reviewed! Special thanks goes out to SaltySerpent for the fanart! You can see the piece on tumblr :D**

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 **Reviews:**

 **Guest27: Thanks for the review! Happy to hear from you again :D I totally agree that Sweets is quite difficult to forget :D If it isn't his tall, dark and handsome, it's his** _ **charming**_ **personality xD**

 **When I Make It Shine: Thanks for the feedback! Glad that you're still enjoying the story :) SP? Jealous? Why** _ **neveeeer**_ **! xD He's a totally jealous bean xD I'm going to have fun with that one… Ruby is going to give him a shock of his life, that's certain :P  
Cheers!**

 **SaltySerpent: Hiiiii! Thanks for the review :D I was super happy to get the feedback :D  
Of course I'm going to reply to all your happily typed comments! I love hearing what goes through your heads as you guys read my stuff xD And, I definitely appreciate all the feedback so I know where to focus :P  
Mattie is like… Sugar… A lot of sugar… And pot… Mixed… She's pot brownies! xD I love writing her and I promise more of her later on :D I'm glad that you have a friend like her, because everyone needs a Mattie in their life :)  
I love writing about the Serpents in their natural habitat hahahahha I was so salty when we didn't get more back in season 1 while FP and the Serpents were working for Fred. I mean, they might be badass bikers and all that, but they do have some legal jobs to stay afloat. Hence, this is what I came up with xD I'm glad that you enjoyed it!  
Ruby and Archie are going to have their moments when they agree and their moments when they disagree 100%. You need to keep in mind that Ruby was raised by a Navy SEAL xD So, yeah… She's a bit hardcore when it comes to guns hahaha  
The Wolfe Manor? I like it hahahaha I definitely love writing about it :P I have this whole picture in my head of it which I'm going to annoy about in the descriptions for… ever? xD  
Cheers!**

 **VKScarlett: Thanks so much for the feedback! I loved hearing from you again :D  
Oh… poor SP… Detective work isn't his strong suit in my head xD He's sooo in for a surprise hahahaha I hope you enjoyed the update! Cheers :D**

 **Jitsukawa: Thank you for the review! I loved reading the feedback :D  
SP and Ruby are my favorite push and pull relationship to write about xD I loved writing them already together and now I'm just like… I need that back xD Hurry up you two xD But, this sass and sarcasm and all the jealousy Jesus! It's fun :P  
Hope you enjoyed the update!**

 **Valerie: Heeelloooooo! Super long review and I'm super happy because I loooove super long reviews xD Thanksss! Glad that I got you to rant :P  
I just watched the first episode and goshhhh xD I'm terrified of this season… xD The bright spot in the first episode was definitely FP. Did you see those glasses? No wonder Alice can't let go xD And the 'meeting of hot dads'… I could just see Jo there as well xD What about you? Have you seen it yet? If yes, how did you like it?  
Ruby is a darling little dynamite in small packaging xD I'm definitely having a blast writing her xD She's going to give SP hell… Then again, he's a jealous tall bean of hotness who needs the sass xD  
I love Toni, what can I say? And, with Ruby and Mattie being bffs, there was only one way to go with her relationship with Toni… Instant friendship hahahaha  
I'm super glad that you're enjoying the long descriptions and all the SP and Ruby back and forth silliness xD I loved writing their first meeting… I wanted to make it as hilarious as possible hahahaha While also filled with potential tension :P  
Sweet Pea is my favorite man to make all conflicted, jealous, mad and everything in between xD That's my favorite form of his tall Serpentness xD  
Hope you enjoyed! Cheers!**

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 **Let me know how you liked it!**


	6. It was the Fourth of July

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait on this one. I was sick and my head simply wasn't clear enough for any typing xD Enjoy!**

* * *

 **I wanted to thank all of you guys who are reading, silent or reviewing. I never expected this story to get such a response!**

* * *

 **Info:**

 **Rating:** T **  
Word count:** 4197 **  
Chapter count:** 6/? **  
Faceclaim:  
** Ruby Wolfe – India Eisley  
Jo Wolfe – Adrian Paul  
Mattie – Elle Fanning

* * *

 **It was the Fourth of July**

"I'm _so_ sorry." Ruby groaned as she pulled up to the iron gates of the Wolfe house and realized what was happening in the driveway. Jughead pushed himself forward in the passenger seat to see better.

"What for?" He asked a little reluctantly.

"My dad… he goes a bit overboard on the 4th of July," the girl explained with a soft sigh. "I'll try to stop him before he blows us all up, I promise." Ruby hopped out of the Mustang to get the gates open, not noticing Jughead's panicked expression.

"You told him that I'm just your friend, right?" The boy instantly asked when she got back into the car to drive up to the house. Ruby tossed him an absent-minded look, checking her rearview mirror before backing up a bit and then driving up to the home, parking on the side so that she wouldn't interrupt Jo's maniacal planting of fireworks.

"What?" she asked once she realized what Jughead had asked. He gave her a panicked look, glancing back at the built man in the driveway who was waving at them, carrying a large colorful tube. "What for?" Ruby repeated his earlier question.

"He's not going to kill me or something?" Jughead was absolutely terrified, the girl realized when she looked at the way he had huddled with the food in his lap in the front seat, seeming ready to stay there for the rest of the night.

"Oh, God, no," the girl laughed. "Dad's cool with me having friends over, boys or girls. He just goes crazy for the holiday," she glanced out at the gleeful way Jo was digging a hole and fitting the firework inside. "He has been talking about something new and, frankly, I'm sure it's illegal."

"Oh," Jughead seemed a bit more relieved. "So, I'm not going to be lit up like a Christmas tree too early?"

"No chance," Ruby promised and the two teens exited the car together. "Hey, dad. This is my friend, Jughead. He'll be joining us for the holiday." Jo abandoned his task of making certain that the firework was properly placed into the ground and walked over with a large grin on his face. It was one of the rare times when Ruby saw her father actually visibly happy about something.

"Of course! Your folks won't be miffed you're not with them, Jughead? What about friends?" Jo extended his hand to the boy. Jughead threw a wary look at Ruby at the obvious interrogation, juggling the bag from Pop's to honor the handshake.

"Not at all, I'm glad to be here with a friend." The carefully returned quip made Jo double over in laughter.

"Alright, I like this kid," he turned to Ruby with a small smile. "You can keep him." Jughead stared between the two, not believing the course the conversation had taken.

"I'll be right back," Ruby excused herself, heading for the gate in the dark to close it. "You guys set up in the kitchen?" Her small form became almost impossible to see in the evening as she went down the driveway on foot.

"Fair warning, we have a dog," Jo told Jughead and then led him into the house. The teen forced himself not to gape as he stared around the large Victorian home. "Chili, come meet a friend." The boy almost dropped the bag of food when the large, grey canine bounded down the stairs and eagerly sniffed him around the knees. "Jughead, Chili. Chili, he's a _friend_." Jo pointedly said to the dog. Then, Chili ran off before Jughead could react, going out the open front door. The boy turned around, one arm waving in the air.

"Should we-? Um, go and get him or something?" He asked the bulky man before him. Ruby's father waved him off.

"Chili's pretty independent. He knows his way around the property already and can take pretty much anything in a fight if it comes down to it. This way," Jo led their guest into the kitchen and started setting the table for three people. "I just wish that he would hunt down those damned moles in the backyard. They're killing me."

"He doesn't like them?" Jughead asked, placing the Pop's bag on the table and starting to fill the plates with the wrapped burgers.

"Oh, he likes them. Chili loves _playing_ with them," Jo groaned. "I wanted a guard dog and Ruby spoiled all of my efforts. Now, we have a huge pooping and farting pillow." At that, Jughead laughed and all of his fears from earlier completely vanished.

"Is there somewhere I can wash my hands, Mr. Wolfe?" Jughead asked, hesitating when he'd placed all the food, still wrapped up, in its proper place.

"Sure, kitchen sink over there or the bathroom on the other side of this wall. Make yourself at home, Jughead," the man grinned easily at him, getting glasses for all three of them. "And, please, just Jo. Mr. Wolfe makes me feel like an old man." His words stopped Jughead from going to the other side to locate the bathroom. The awkward teen found himself grinning at the man.

"Of course, Jo." He kind of wished that he had such a family, hearing Ruby come inside and joke with her father about unimportant things. Maybe, if his own father had been more like Jo, his mother and sister would still be in Riverdale and he wouldn't be living at the Drive-In. Jughead looked at himself in the old mirror, running his wet hands over his face before turning off the faucet and steadying himself for the undeniably wild evening he was in for. The teen stopped, taking another look at the faucet. There were two snarling wolf heads made out of iron on each side, one for hot and the other for cold water. He shook his head and left the bathroom, wiping his hands on the sides of his shirt.

"Why do you guys have Beowulf taking care of your faucet in the bathroom?" The two hosts looked at each other, Jo seemingly sheepish and Ruby with a pointed expression on her face.

"Well," the bulky man began, waving Jughead over to the table.

* * *

The evening passed quickly for the odd ensemble at the Wolfe house. Jughead seemed more than eager to hear all of the embarrassing stories from Ruby's childhood, which were a common conversation topic for any Wolfe family dinner. After a while the stories changed, going further back into the tall tales of how Jo got into some sticky situations during his years in Riverdale, causing the former Sheriff, Mr. Howard, to know him by name and frequently drag him back home by the ear. In the middle of one story, of how Jo had roped the current Sheriff, only Tommy back then, into spray-painting 'Fuck the police' on a cruiser, fireworks were heard outside, causing the man to stop talking. He grinned widely.

"Oh, it's time," he told the two teens. "It's time to retaliate and announce our arrival to this tiny place." Ruby giggled as her father hopped up from the table, leaving all of the plates and wrappers there, in favor of going outside.

"Should I be afraid of what's to come?" Jughead asked with a small smile.

"Only if you're not going to participate." The girl replied and the two teens followed the former SEAL outside, only to find him with his hands on his hips, watching the sky light up with various colors of cheap fireworks above the small town of Riverdale.

"Amateurs," Jo snorted. "Grab a light, honey. Let's show them how it's done." He headed for the porch storage, a large wooden chest, and dug out his own lighter, obviously meant for barbeque.

"Awaiting your further orders, sir." Ruby brandished her own lighter from her back pocket, handing another one to Jughead. He accepted it reluctantly.

"Alright, soldiers," Jo addressed the teens. "We're going left to right, lighting them up and moving back once we're done. Remember not to get anything caught on the sparks." Jughead slipped his fingerless gloves off and stuffed them in his back pocket, eager smile on his face as he followed Ruby to a random row of planted fireworks. Lighting the fuses was easy, quick work. Jo was by far the fastest one, hopping from one tube to the next with glee on his face and mad chuckles coming from his hulking frame. Jughead soon found his rhythm, as well, finishing before Ruby. She was the last one to light a fuse and join the two men on the porch as they listened to the sizzling and waited.

Then, the first rocket flew into the sky, exploding just above the Wolfe house into a blue, sparkly dome. The firework wasn't done, though. On its way down, it exploded three more times, in different colors, spraying all over the place.

"Holy crap." Jughead commented. And, it was a very accurate comment indeed. The next tubes to fire off were simultaneous, lighting up the sky above the old Wolfe property in different colors, sparks and patterns. They exploded one after the other, as if competing with each other, until the night was dark once more. And then, it was chaos. The whole driveway was positively on fire, Jo's maniacal laughter heard in between explosions, as tube after tube went flying into the air, lighting up the two grinning faces of the teenagers on the porch.

"Pretty cool, right?" Ruby yelled to Jughead over the noise, watching the way his eyes went back and forth from the field to the sky. He was obviously torn between watching the show in the sky and trying to guess which firework would go up next.

"Cool?!" he yelled back. "This is the best thing since they added the double feature Wolfman to the cinema on my birthday! I'm inviting myself for this next year, too!" The boy replied loudly.

"Only if I can come and watch that with you!" Ruby returned, giggling at the childish glee on the men's faces. Jughead eagerly nodded. It took a little under half an hour for all of the fireworks in the driveway to shoot off into the sky. Jo did a final check, making sure that all of them had detonated well. Then, he turned to the two teenagers on the porch, still grinning.

"Now, we start a war with that hangout on Southside," The man cackled. "Ruby, grab the bag from the chest and let's rumble!" The man rushed towards his workshop out back.

"Hangout?" Jughead asked, following the girl once she had a heavy duffle bag over her shoulder. The two teens passed through the house, noting that Chili was grumbling under the living room table, safe and sound, before exiting out the back and passing the patio there.

"Yeah, some teens have a makeshift spot on the other side of the Sweetwater River. It's almost directly across from our walkway." Ruby waved the boy over, helping him navigate through numerous mole hills and holes in their backyard towards the small shed down by the river bank.

"You're going to egg them into a shootout, aren't you?" Jughead asked with a grin, watching the girl unzip the bag and start arranging fireworks on the wooden walkway one by one. She gave him an eager look and wide smile in the dark.

"Ready, kids?" Jo asked, bounding over with a large contraption on his shoulder.

"Oh, my God, dad, is that a rocket launcher?" Ruby couldn't stop giggling as she asked. Jughead inspected the contraption, torn between shock and awe. Sure enough, it looked like a rocket launcher which had been modified a little in a home workshop.

"You know me too well, hun," the man replied, swinging the launcher off his shoulder. "Jughead, how's your aim, kiddo?"

"Pretty good, I think." The boy replied, eyes still glued to the rocket launcher.

"Feel free to do the honors, then," Jo helped them load the contraption with the first firework, placing it on Jughead's shoulder and adjusting the aim a bit from behind the boy. "Aim a little over those tall trees, there, okay?" he instructed. "Ready?"

"Fire in the hole." Jughead eagerly replied and Jo lit the fuse. It took a few seconds for the firework to ignite and shoot off into the night, right above the treetops on the other side of the river. The teen was thrown back from the recoil, ending up on his butt on the ground. But, even as Jo took the launcher from him and Ruby hauled him up, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the dark bank on the opposite side, waiting.

Then, the firework exploded. It lit up the tall, non-deciduous trees with a red glow, showing the small hut on the bank with tiny figures scrambling about next to it. Ruby cackled maniacally, pointing her finger at the obviously freaking out people.

"Oh, did you see them?" she shouted to the other two in glee. "They're losing it!" Jughead joined her in laughter, bending over and trying to stay upright.

"Let's see if they've got guts, or we need to switch targets," Jo replied in a light tone. The trio waited in the dark fireworks shooting off in the distance all across Riverdale. Then, a small light appeared on the other side of the river and something whizzed towards them. "Cover!" the former SEAL yelled, the trio huddling behind the small house at the edge of the walkway. A firework exploded right above them, sending a fray of yellow sparks across the black summer sky. "Return fire!" At Jo's command, Ruby grabbed the rocket launcher and he loaded another tube in the back.

Needless to say, the rest of their night was spent outdoing the residents of the Southside from their bank of their river. They won without much trouble.

* * *

Morning rolled around to find Jughead snoring away on a spare bed in Ruby's room. She'd asked him if he wanted to share her own mattress, which was large enough for three people, but he'd declined. So, she'd pulled out the comfortable sofa chair into a bed and set it up for him before they had both crashed, out cold in seconds. They didn't notice Jo cracking the door open around two in the morning, checking in on them, before retreating with a smile.

Jughead woke up around eleven, having slept like a baby. The sofa chair, despite being a spare bed, was insanely comfortable, the perfect combination of soft and hard. It made him only glance at his phone when Ruby's alarm rang out, before switching to the other side and falling asleep once more. But, at eleven, he was awake. He rolled out of the bed and folded his blanket, placing it over the pillow and tidying up behind himself. Ruby was already gone, her bed perfectly made.

Jughead wandered around, before finding the bathroom on the right side of the room and entering. He went about his morning routine, fishing some fresh clothes from his backpack, before tugging his signature beanie on and wandering downstairs to find the odd Wolfe family. He had been a little reluctant to befriend the new girl in town, if he was being honest. Jughead didn't trust easily, but she had grown on him. After all the funny stories from last night along with the mad evening of challenging the Southside to a firework war, the teen felt like he actually belonged with the two Wolfe family members.

When he came downstairs, the area was empty, save for Chili, who was snoozing in front of the front door on the carpet. The dog opened one eye, watching Jughead sheepishly head out to the kitchen. The teen grabbed some juice from the fridge and warmed up some of the leftover fries in the microwave, before looking for the father daughter duo outside, food in hand. He found the Wolfe family a little ways off the back porch, facing each other on a blue mat.

Both Jo and Ruby had their hands wrapped in tape, much like boxers did, and they were exchanging blows. At first, Jughead wondered if he should announce his presence and stop them. Then, he took in the picture with a little more detail. Jo was wearing only a pair of shorts, showing off his muscular torso, while his daughter had on a pair of training shorts and a sports bra. Ruby's hair was up in a ponytail securely, too. And, each of them had a number of bruises forming on their body. They'd been at it for a while.

As the teen watched, munching on his fries, the girl rushed at her father, trying to battle through his experienced hits and flip him to the mat. However, Jo was too quick. He hooked his leg behind one of hers, breaking her base with an expert motion and sending her sprawling onto her back.

"Strong roots, Ruby," the former SEAL lectured. "It's the base of your fighting. You need strong roots." He extended his hand, helping the girl up.

"Maybe if you had less muscle, you Godzilla," she groaned back. "I've got strong roots, old man." The training, Jughead realized, continued for another twenty or so minutes. The majority of their clashes ended up with Ruby on the mat, needing a hand to get up. Once or twice, she managed to break her father's hold and retreat. Until, finally, she got the upper hand and slipped his foot from underneath him, repeating the motion Jughead had seen Jo do earlier. The former SEAL ended up on his back, his daughter whooping in joy, arms in the air.

"Alright, alright. Shall we call it a day with that obvious show of humility?" The man asked with a small smile, getting up with the help of Ruby's hand.

"Gladly, as long as you remember who won."

"I did." Jo retorted.

"Not the last round." Ruby shot back.

"Ref, what do you say?" Jughead realized that Jo had been aware of his presence from the start. By Ruby's shocked look, she hadn't been. "Whose win?"

"Hate to break it to you, Ruby," Jughead waved his fry around, pointing at the bulky man. "This one goes to Jo hands down."

"Traitor," The girl groaned out half-heartedly. "Let's get some breakfast." And the father-daughter duo walked to the porch, carrying the mat in between them.

* * *

Jughead got used to the Wolfe family routine easily. They were a fun duo to hang around with, if he was being honest. The two kept working on their home, which they'd told him had been passed down through their family for years, despite the holiday. Being a guest, he felt obligated to help out, and it proved to be quite a bit of fun. He and Ruby were kept busy for the most of the afternoon on the first floor, going through dresser after dresser of old things, sometimes being brave enough to try them on purely for giggles. While some of the clothes were positively ridiculous, they found quite a bit of old jewelry which they set aside to either polish for use or sell. It was while they were sifting through an old photo album that Jo came upstairs, asking them if they wanted any food.

A barbeque in the backyard was a nice switch from Jughead's usual stop at Pop's for lunch. Jo had brought out their grill from the old home in Maryland and the trio had made themselves busy by washing, marinating and flipping various meats and vegetables. Ruby shared a number of stories from her time with Mattie, a wild girl she'd gone to her freshman year with for a while. Jughead, in turn, offered up quite a few anecdotes of his childhood with Archie and Jellybean. Altogether, it turned out to be quite the fun afternoon.

That evening, they didn't set off as many fireworks. Instead, they made themselves busy with a couple of exploding fountains in the backyard and lit up sparklers on the porch out back as they sipped some quality coffee, ate chocolate, which Jughead found Ruby was addicted to, and talked. Finally, Jo walked back inside to do the dishes and Ruby facetimed with Mattie. Jughead took the chance to open his laptop and hook it into the outlet through the window, after meeting the blonde girl over camera.

"You won't believe what happened!" Jughead listened to the chat absent-mindedly, as he edited some of his old writing. "Jake asked me out, superwoman." Mattie's voice was cheery as she exclaimed the sentence with a giggle.

"Jake? The hot, emo Jake?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, yeah!" her friend sighed. "He's still just as hot as ever, with that hair. Oh, my gosh, he has a piercing on his lip now, too." Ruby laughed.

"Yeah? I need pictures, care bear," the girl sipped a bit of her coffee, before asking another question. "So, did you say yes?" She wanted to know.

"I told him that I would think about it…" Mattie replied with a smile, then a giggle. Jughead sighed, abandoning his work in favor of joining their conversation. The two were positively ruining his concentration with all the gossiping.

"Why do you girls do that? Really?" he asked, making Ruby turn the phone a bit, so that Mattie could see him, too. "Do you know how hard it is to ask a girl out? Don't make the poor guy freak out over your answer if you want to date him." The boy threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Sweetie, as much as I love you, and I already do, I need him to sweat a bit," Mattie told the two with a familiar bounce of her head which sent her curls all over the place. Her finger rose, as if she were proving a point. "Seriously, I've been dropping hints that I wanted him to ask me out for a whole year and we texted all summer. Now, let him freak out."

"Amen, sister." Ruby laughed.

"You girls are impossible," Jughead shook his head. "I predict that both of you will end up as lone old crones."

"Ooooh, sassy, I like it!" Mattie laughed, with her friend joining in. "If it doesn't work out with Jake, wanna go out with me, Juggie?" The poor boy spluttered into his coffee, making the two girls burst into laughter.

"You're both horrible." Jughead told them, making the laughter even worse.

* * *

The rest of the 4th July weekend seemed to pass in a flash for the two teens. They got quite comfortable with each other, living in the same room at Ruby's insistence and logical reasoning that there was no point in Jughead going back home only to have her pick him up later in the day. After he accidentally burst into the shower while she was completely naked, apologizing profusely as he exited, they became even closer. Ruby had to admit that she liked the boy and his awkward personality. While he was often reluctant to voice his opinion, once he got comfortable, he proved that he had both sass and smarts. Both were traits which she loved, so she tried to make him feel as at home as she could.

Jughead became the unofficial referee when Jo and Ruby sparred in the backyard every day, twice a day. He'd only ruled in her favor a couple of times, but she was still very happy with the wins. Her father was, as always, a beast to take down.

The call that broke up their festive mood came in the morning of Tuesday, the exact date of the Fourth of July. Jughead and Ruby had just finished cleaning up the last of the fireworks, the second wave of tubes which Jo had bought for the date in question, rather than the previous weekend when most of the townsfolk had celebrated. The screen flashed with Archie's name and Ruby saw the boy hesitate before he picked it up.

"What?" she noted down the angry tone in Jughead's voice and made a mental reminder to ask about it later. "Wait, what happened?" Jughead dropped the empty tube of the firework on the ground. "Thanks for calling me. We'll be right there." The call ended and Jughead stuffed his phone back into the pocket of his pants, turning to Ruby with a grave face. "Jason Blossom drowned in Sweetwater River this morning. They just found his sister, Cheryl. Archie says everyone's going to see what happened."

"I'll drive." Ruby dropped the remnants of the flame show they'd had last night, running to the Wolfe house for her car keys. When she came back out, Jughead was bouncing next to the old Mustang in the driveway. "Where exactly at Sweetwater River? It runs through the forest from here."

"Old hiking road that scouts use," Jughead said. "Should take us less than five minutes to get there." He hopped out of the car to close the iron gates of the Wolfe house behind the car, before hurrying back into the Mustang, slamming the door. Ruby floored the gas.

* * *

 **That's all for now folks! Let me know how you liked it :D**

 **I would like to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and especially the people who reviewed! You guys make me write faster :D**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **Valerie:  
Hi! Thanks for the lovely review and I'm sorry that I didn't update sooner xD I was sick :') Still a bit under the weather, but well enough to get to spellchecking xD  
Oh, Fred punching Hiram was absolute** _ **gold**_ **! And Betty praising him for it later? Not sure which moment I liked better xD  
I'm glad that you're enjoying how I'm imagining Ruby's 'place' in the gang. She's a bit of an oddball, but she will find her spot with them, one way or another :P  
Sweet Pea… I think that he's mainly confused at this point? I mean, he likes her fairly enough, but she's a Northie. So, he's a bit torn, because he doesn't think that he should like her xD He'll get there, the doofus we all love hahahaha  
Cheers!**

 **Jitsukawa:  
Thanks so much for the awesome feedback! Sweet Pea is… yeaaaaah xD He is pretty stubborn and can't figure out what he wants xD He needs a moment… Or a month? :P Kidding, I promise that he'll be back in Ruby's orbit soon enough xD I love writing him all jealous! I promise that we haven't seen the end of that xD  
Jughead and Ruby… weren't meant to be this close, to be honest… However, the scenes just wrote themselves out and… yeah… now they're buddies xD She was actually supposed to meet him when he switched to South High… But, yeah xD Change of plans, according to my writing hahahaha  
Cheers!**

 **Iriniii:  
Thanks so much for the input! I was super happy to hear from you :D Though, I'm going to disappoint… Might be a while before we get some Sweets and Ruby interaction… It's coming, though… Slowly… and will end in explosions, as everything with those two does xD  
I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope that you liked this one, as well :D  
Cheers!**

 **top story:  
Hey there, thanks for the lovely review! I'm always happy to hear that you're enjoying the story :D  
I hope that neither the events of the holiday (the upcoming drama xD) nor Jo's madness disappointed :P I had a ton of fun writing this one hahahaha  
Cheers!**

 **When I Make It Shine:  
Hi! Thanks for the review :D  
I'm glad that you're enjoying Jo's madness as much as I am hahahaha He's super cool xD  
I promise that there will be more about Ruby's mum soon enough. Though, right now, she isn't too important for the plot or any character development… I've actually gotten a request on tumblr to write about Sweets meeting Lisa over Skype, it should be up this weekend :D It will give you more info about her, for now :D  
Cheers!**

* * *

 **Looking forward to hearing what you think :D**


	7. Ready, get set, go!

**Hey guys! I swear I'm alive and typing, just very slowly. I've been away from writing for a bit to clear my head. More chapters to come!**

* * *

 **I wanted to thank all of you guys who are reading, silent or reviewing.  
Special thanks to: TheBrightestOfBlues and Destinie Harms for that extra kick in my butt to update xD  
Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Info:**

 **Rating:** T **  
Word count:** 4273 **  
Chapter count:** 7/? **  
Faceclaim:  
** Ruby Wolfe – India Eisley  
Jo Wolfe – Adrian Paul  
Mattie – Elle Fanning  
Lucas Bradshaw – Lucas Till  
Leviathan 'Levi' - Emjay Anthony  
Galadriel 'El' - Maddison Brown

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Ready, get set, go!**

Ruby was moving on an automatic the whole time. Jughead actually had to take her hand and lead her out of the Mustang to join the crowd of onlookers. They were all watching as the Sheriff's department unfurled a long, yellow tape around the access point to the river, organizing inflatable boats with motors on the bank to search the area. Ruby saw a redheaded girl, in pure white, being handed a blanket and spoken to by the officers before they walked her over to a couple on the bank with the same flaming hair. The woman looked positively broken, while the man seemed to be holding on by some miracle.

"Those are the Blossoms." Jughead supplied, knowing that Ruby wasn't well-acquainted with all the Riverdale residents. With a small nod, she watched the couple hug their daughter as the woman cried. "Cheryl and Jason are, or were, twins." The boy kept talking.

"Must be horrible for her." The girl replied in a low tone. Then, her phone rang and Ruby moved away from the scene, tearing her eyes away from the redheaded family in mourning. "Ruby," she picked up.

"Hey, hon. Where'd you guys go?" Jo's voice came from the other end of the line, a little groggy. "The car was gone and there was no note. I got a bit worried."

"Sorry, dad," Ruby replied. "Archie called. Someone named Jason Blossom drowned in the Sweetwater River this morning. Jughead and I went to check it out."

"Blossom? Get out of there, Ruby," Jo's voice became clear instantly, focused. It got Ruby to snap out of her fugue state and focus, as well. She instantly became more aware of the chatter of the onlookers and the slight breeze in her hair. "Listen to me. Come home. Now."

"Okay. Should I bring Jughead with me?" The girl asked, turning to see the teen still watching the scene.

"If he wants to. If not, leave him. Watch your own skin first." Jo instructed and then, the line cut off. Ruby took the phone away from her ear and looked at it for a second, wondering what Jo's tone was all about. She made her way back up the rocky path to Jughead.

"Hey, Jo called," she told him. "He said to head home, he wants to grab some food. You wanna join us?" Ruby asked, watching his face. Jughead's eyes flickered from the boats to Ruby and then back.

"Sure, I'll come." Ruby texted her father that she would head out to Pop's for some breakfast before coming home.

* * *

It was that same day, in the evening, after Ruby had dropped Jughead off at the Drive-In for work, that Chili tore out the open door and started barking down their driveway. Ruby stood from her spot in front of the newly set up TV, courtesy of Jo and Jughead, to call the dog back and welcome their guest. Soon enough, a familiar man in uniform was walking up the front steps.

"Good evening, Ruby," Sheriff Keller greeted. "Is your father at home?" The girl hesitated for a second, but moved aside to let the man enter the house and pointed him to the kitchen.

"I'll go get him for you," she told the officer. "Please, help yourself to some coffee." The girl hopped up the stairs, knocking before she entered the master bedroom on the first floor. Her father turned, in the middle of folding some of his clothes before placing them into the large wardrobe his grandfather used to use.

"What's up, kiddo?" Jo asked.

"Sheriff Keller's here to see you." Jo frowned, but followed her back downstairs. They found the Sheriff standing awkwardly in their kitchen, not having touched anything. "How do you take your coffee, sir?" Ruby asked politely, getting three cups out.

"Black," the man replied with a nod. "Jo, I need to talk to you," Jo glanced at Ruby.

"Whatever you have to say, feel free to do so in front of my daughter," the former SEAL told the Sheriff. "We have an honesty policy in this family." The Sheriff nodded, looking around before speaking again.

"Can you account for your whereabouts this morning?" He asked, accepting the cup Ruby gave him. The teen froze in place, not picking up her own coffee or giving Jo his. Her father let out a small grumble.

"Really, Tom?" Jo's tone was anything but friendly. "You think I make my business out of drowning kids?" Ruby was glad that she hadn't picked up her cup, because she definitely would've dropped it then. Her eyes were positively icy when they looked at the Sheriff again.

"It's my business to ask, Jo," the Sheriff replied. "You're new in town, known for your work in the army. You certainly have the knowledge for making a boy drown and leaving no trace." Jo's form was like carved out of stone. He stood complexly still for a few moments.

"I wasn't at Sweetwater River this morning," the man replied. "I was here, cleaning up and settling in."

"Can anyone vouch for your whereabo-"

"I can," Ruby interrupted the man in an icy tone. "So can Jughead. My father was up after us and he was unpacking his boxes the whole morning." She moved to the side, passing her father who was still standing like an iron rock, the veins in his arms bulging from anger. "Now, if that's all, we'd like you to leave, Sheriff."

"Of course," Sheriff Keller replied, going to the door. "Thank you for the coffee and I'm sorry for the inconvenience." He spoke from the entrance.

"It was no problem," Ruby walked behind him with a soft smile on her face that sent a shiver down the Sheriff's back. He turned to leave, but the girl stopped him on the front steps. "Oh, and sir," the Sheriff turned to see the girl standing there, glaring at him. For a brief second, he was reminded of how Jo Wolfe used to look back in high school, when he was quite a bit of trouble. "If you have any more questions, please bring a warrant." The front door closed in his face without a sound. Sheriff Keller sighed, walking down the front steps and to his cruiser.

* * *

The rest of Ruby's summer passed quickly, unsurprisingly without another visit from Sheriff Keller, with or without the warrant. And, before she knew it, she was choosing her classes online and picking the outfit for her first day over facetime with Mattie. She'd spent the rest of her summer mostly texting Toni and Fangs, occasionally meeting up at Pop's or at the Drive-In. The two had been pumped to see that the hood of her Mustang was perfect for watching a movie with a few buckets of popcorn and a soft blanket. They'd made fun of the girl and her unicorn patterned sheet, too. When she wasn't with the two Serpents, Ruby was with Jughead or Archie. Not together, as they'd had some kind of a blow-out in between them. The most she got from either was that Archie had bailed on their 4th of July plans at the last minute. And, neither she nor Jughead had managed to figure out why, only that it was big.

"No, superwoman, you can't go like that!" Mattie exclaimed in horror as she surveyed Ruby's dark jeans and black Supernatural themed shirt combo. "You need to make a splash, even if you're going to a weird school now," the girl grumbled. "Get that dress that I bought you last winter. The pink one with the sweetheart neckline."

"Okay," Ruby went back to her closet, now perfectly arranged and color-coded, and began rummaging. "Just so you know, wearing pink at this school… I'm going to stand out."

"That's the point!" Mattie squealed when Ruby pulled out the dress from one of her piles of pink clothing, all given to her by her friend. "Perfect! Now, all you need is a pair of tights or some pale jeans," Ruby got on top of the task instantly, rummaging. She had a pair of washed out jeans in her hands soon enough. "Great," Mattie nodded in approval. "You've got some pink flats, too, right? Oooh, and some make-up." The rest of Ruby's morning was spent in applying the pale pink eyeshadow and some mascara, along with rose lip-gloss, while Mattie guided her.

"You're sure that that outfit is the best way to go for your first day at South High?" Jo asked when he saw his daughter come down the stairs and join him in the kitchen for a quick bite before school.

"Mattie approved." Ruby nodded, grabbing some toast and hummus, before filling up her travel mug with coffee.

"Stay alert, then." Her father told her, passing the salt. Ruby finished her breakfast standing and grabbed her pastel blue messenger bag.

"Always am, dad." She threw a few punches his way, in the air, mockingly. "Give me a ride?"

* * *

The front doors of Southside High looked more ominous than Ruby remembered them to be. She sat in the passenger seat of the Mustang for a few more moments before she took a deep breath, grabbed her bag and exited the car. She slammed the door closed, getting a few looks from the crowd on the front steps, all dressed in dark color in a huge contrast to her peppy outfit. Ruby didn't mind them, though. She walked around the Mustang and stuck her head through the driver's window, giving Jo a kiss on the cheek.

"Knock them dead." He encouraged, driving off. Ruby took another deep breath, slowly exhaling and then turned around, facing the entrance. By then, she definitely had the attention of the students out front, whispers going between them and curious looks tossed her way. But, Ruby was in her bubble. She took out her earphones and plugged them into her phone, throwing her playlist on shuffle. Nicki Minaj came on with a fierce rap from No Frauds. In Ruby's opinion, it was the perfect soundtrack. With a giggle, she hopped up the front steps, not shying away from the dangerous looking crowd, but waiting for them to move out of her way with a steady glare.

She headed for the teachers' lounge after passing the metal detectors, in order to get her schedule and locker combination and number. Nora seemed as bored as always as she handed out the papers to various students like a machine. Ruby grabbed hers and pushed through the buzzing crowd, heading down the hallways to find her locker. It was located in the area for sophomores, like Lucas had shown her earlier that summer. Ruby opened it and found it full of empty wrappers, some kinds of colorful straws, which reminded her of candy canes and cigarette buds. As some of the wrappers fell out onto her feet she heard chuckling from behind her. There was a group of boys and girls, pointing at her and laughing at the contents of her locker. Ruby wouldn't be deterred. A bit of trash was nothing she hadn't expected.

The girl pulled out two plastic bags from her back pocket, proceeding to use one as a makeshift glove and the other as a trash bin. She soon had an empty, yet dirty locker. Then, she tossed her 'glove' away into the plastic bag and hung it on the edge of the metal door. She dug out the packet of wet wipes from her bag and wiped the inside of the locker completely clean, tossing away wipes until the last one came completely white. When she was satisfied, she took out a packet of stickers from her messenger bag. On the door of her locker, she plastered a few colorful unicorns and rainbows, hearing the laughter increase behind her. Ruby turned, seeing the same group from before losing it at the sight.

"I _love_ unicorns." The girl told them with a sugary tone, winking at the end. They laughed even harder. When she was done, Ruby took the trash bag and closed her locker, leaving it empty. She stuffed the leftover supplies back into her messenger bag. Her spot stood out horribly against the other doors, which were all tagged with graffiti. Hers was plastered with pink, yellow and blue unicorns and rainbows. Altogether, she was happy with her work.

"You're going to get so much crap in your locker for that, new girl," a girl had wandered over from the laughing group, leaning casually on the lockers next to Ruby's. She was quite pretty, with short, red hair in an asymmetric style and multiple piercings on her face. "I'm El, sophomore."

"Like Eloise or Elena?" Ruby asked, offering her hand. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Wolfe. I'm a sophomore, too." El shook her hand.

"Like Galadriel," El groaned out, making Ruby giggle. "My parents were too high and too into Tolkien when they named me. But, you might just have a weirder name than I do. Why not put a red wolf on your locker instead?" The obviously gothic teen asked. "This will _really_ get you a lot of crap."

"That's a pretty cool name, still. I wish mine had such a backstory," Ruby laughed. "I got it because my dad proposed to my mom with a ruby gemstone necklace," El gave her a raised eyebrow look. "To be fair, they were in Afghanistan and he couldn't find anything else."

"Sweet," El replied in a bored tone. "Did she say yes and make him a number of babies afterwards?" The girl waved at some of the passing teens who nodded back.

"She said no, actually. She didn't want to get married," Ruby elaborated. "And, I'm an only child. By the way, I'm alright with a bit of crap in my locker until I build some kind of rep here. Then, I might consider a red wolf." At that, El laughed.

"Gimmie your schedule, gurl. Let's see if we have any classes together."

* * *

In the end, they only had Trig together. But, Ruby wasn't too concerned with having El in her classes. She found that Toni and Fangs were in her first period, English 10, along with Sweet Pea. Ruby had waved at them, getting an eager greeting back from the former two and a glare from the tall biker. It was a clear message not to associate with them. So, she had chosen a seat up front, ready to get some work done. Her next period, Biology, she also had with the Serpents. She knew Sweet Pea and easily recognized Gorgonhead in the back. However, she didn't bother saying hi then. Then, she had Trig with El and some of her friends, who'd welcomed her into their circle readily, and finally, lunch.

Ruby had listened to Lucas about bringing her own food to school. And, she instantly realized that it was good advice. The cafeteria food, meatloaves, peas and something suspiciously gooey on the side, looked positively revolting. Despite El waving her over, the girl politely declined the invitation and chose a table near the wall, which was empty, away from any large groups of people. She sat down and took out her phone and her lunch, preparing to talk to Mattie as she ate. But, as soon as she shot off her first text, along with a stealthy picture of her English class and professor, someone sat in front of her.

"Hey, new girl," Ruby looked up to see that Levi had joined her, carrying a tray of cafeteria food. "Disgusting, I know," he laughed at her wrinkled nose. "But, I had no choice today. How were your morning classes?"

"Pretty okay. I made some friends and I think I'll be doing an essay for extra credit in English. What about yours?" Ruby asked, opening her Ziplock and taking out her sandwich.

"Mmm," Levi swallowed a piece of his meatloaf. "Boring, mostly. Anatomy is going to kick my ass, I already know."

"Isn't that an AP class for seniors?" Ruby was a little shocked. And, by Levi's laugh, it showed on her face.

"Yeah, what can I say? I've got both the brains and the looks." He tossed his messy curls back from his forehead in an extravagant motion, making the girl laugh.

"Fair enough." She agreed.

"Hey, we're hanging with the new girl, now?" Lucas joined them at the table, taking out his wrapped lunch. He glared at Levi's plate. "Damn, that's nasty. Love the outfit, Rubes. You're gonna get jumped for it, though." Apparently, she had a nickname now. Ruby shrugged.

"I'll wing it when it comes to it." Levi laughed through his peas, teeth green.

"Gosh, I love her already," he told Lucas. "She's got spunk."

"I told you," Lucas shook his head, getting started on his own lunch. "So, any new friendships? Made any enemies?" He asked eagerly. "Or perhaps frenemies?"

"El, over there." Ruby pointed out the redheaded girl who was telling a story while sitting on top of a cafeteria table. "She's in my Trig class and seems pretty nice. Enemies, not yet. Maybe that guy?" Ruby motioned her head towards Sweet Pea, who was showing Fangs something on his phone on the other side of the iron fence.

"Ooooh, getting into the gangship early on," Levi laughed. "El's in the Ghoulies, like us. But, those guys are Serpents. Don't mix and match, new girl." He warned her in a light tone, but it came off as a half-threat.

"I'm not planning on segregating or discriminating based on your tags, Levi," Ruby reassured him after she swallowed a bite. "I like El and you guys, but I also like Toni and Fangs." Lucas and Levi exchanged glances on their side of the table. Ruby followed their silent conversation with mild amusement.

"We'll see how that works out for you, shall we?" Levi turned to her with a smile. Lucas, though, leaned over the table and lowered his voice.

"We're not in the business of recruiting, Rubes," he told her in a soft, but warning tone. "But, watch out for El. She'll get you hooked on drugs and pull you into the Ghoulies if she can. She's our top recruiter, after all." Ruby gave a nod, glancing back at the laughing redhead.

"Also, she's pretty nasty," Levi warned. "Keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut." Despite the friendly demeanor of the redheaded girl, Ruby took Levi's and Lucas' advice to heart, keeping information flow to a minimum when she spoke to El later.

* * *

"Okay, I'll go to the library here and wait, then," Ruby told Jo over the phone as she cleaned her locker for the fourth time that day. "Just ring me when you're close?"

"Sounds good," her father replied, noise coming from his end of the line. "I'm sorry about this, kiddo. We need to get you a car or something."

"It's fine. I'm good here." The line cut off after they said their goodbyes. Ruby finished with her locker, stuffing tissues into the slots in hopes of preventing more trash from being placed inside until the next day. Then, she closed it and headed to the library. Lucas had pointed it out after lunch, saying that, no matter how crazy the gang rivalry got, it was neutral ground and nobody would bother anyone there. There was some kind of a truce between the Serpents and the Ghoulies when it came to studying.

Ruby found the library as interesting as the rest of South High. It was dark, filled with rafters upon rafters of messily arranged books, with green lamps at each desk and a countertop with a student librarian behind it. She found a fairly secluded spot in the corner and took out her homework, getting started on her English essay first. She'd volunteered in the end to do a piece analyzing happiness in the book and proving why some of the character were or weren't merry. Ruby began with checking out the Great Gatsby at the counter, reading the first few chapters and noting down the characters and the points as to why or why not they could be considered content with their various choices.

Halfway through, she gave up on concentrating, instead taking out her earbuds and answering a few of Mattie's texts. When Ruby looked up next, she saw that the library was empty. The counter light had been turned off and the student librarian was gone. All the other desks were empty, too. So, she allowed herself a bit of downtime and rose from her desk, deciding that she needed to move around in order to get her blood flowing and concentrate on the assignment later.

The song which came up on her playlist was perfect, too. It was an old hit from Major Lazer, Watch Out For This, from a few years back. Ruby blamed Mattie for getting her into the artist and obsessing over both their new and old stuff together. Placing her phone in her back pocket, the girl let the music take over, forgetting that she was at the library. The only sound she could hear was the drop of the beat and the endearing accent of the vocalist on the track, Busy Signal.

Soon enough, her hips were swaying, her hair was swishing around her head and Ruby was having as good of a time as she would at any nightclub. As the song progressed, she got more daring, going around the library, instead of only dancing by her own desk, flowing through the different hip-hop moves Mattie had taught her during their numerous sleepovers.

Then, the whole affair came to an abrupt stop when Ruby's body slammed into something, back against a hard surface. She turned around, her hair flying, and ripped the earbuds from their place. There was a pair of familiar dark eyes, giving her an amused look from above.

"God, Sweet Pea, you almost gave me a heart attack," the girl breathlessly exclaimed, her hand over her heart. The tall biker's grin grew. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Enjoying the show," Sweet Pea rumbled, still looking her over. Ruby was painfully aware of her cheeks becoming even redder, and not because of all the dancing she'd just done. "This place is close to my home and I needed some extra material for class." He showed her the book in his hand.

"The librarian is gone." Ruby helpfully supplied, cursing her brain.

"I can see that," Sweet Pea couldn't stop his lips from smiling at the show he'd walked in on. "She won't miss this one. I'll check it out tomorrow." Ruby nodded a few times, trying to recollect herself.

"Okay." She backed away from him, heading for her desk. But, the biker followed her.

"What are _you_ doing here so late?" He wanted to know.

"Waiting for Jo to pick me up," Ruby shrugged as they both sat down, Sweet Pea's legs extending under the table all the way to her side. Gosh, he had some long legs, her brain helpfully drooled. "He had a job interview in Centerville, so he's late."

"I see." Sweet Pea replied and then opened his book, obviously staying put. Ruby suppressed a sigh. There was no way that she could continue working, with the handsome distraction in front of her and all the adrenaline she'd worked up during her downtime.

"Sorry that I didn't say hi or anything during class," she told the biker, making him look up from his book. "I got the idea that you guys didn't want to be associated with the fresh meat up for grabs." Sweet Pea huffed, closing his book.

"I didn't know that you were coming to South High," he avoided the clear question with an honest admission, surprising Ruby. She offered a small smile, closing her own book and propping her head up, elbows on the desk.

"My dad went here for the majority of his high school years," the girl told him in a soft voice. "So, I wanted to see what kind of a school it was, if it helped make dad into the man he is today."

"A shitty one," Sweet Pea shot back, his phone in his hand, fiddling with it. "How long are you going to be waiting here, do you know?"

"Jury's still out." Ruby laughed easily. The tall biker stood, his phone going back into his pocket. Ruby's eyes trailed up his form, seeing him looking down at her expectantly.

"C'mon then, I'm not going to wait with you here, for sure," Sweet Pea told her and Ruby was frozen in shock for a mere second, before she started stuffing her books and notes into her bag.

"You're giving me a ride home? Why?" She couldn't help asking.

"Do you not want one?" Sweet Pea grumbled back, already halfway out the library when Ruby ran after him, slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder.

"No, no. I mean, yes, I want one. Thanks." She jogged to keep up with his long strides with a small smile on her face. Sweet Pea noticed it and schooled his features into an angry scowl, which just made the girl grin wider.

"I couldn't leave you here looking like a lost Northie," the biker told her as they reached ground level. "You'd get robbed, raped or sold into slavery and FP would hang me outside the Whyte Wyrm as an example of incompetence." Sweet Pea pushed the front doors open, holding them for the girl to pass, ignoring her laughter as they stepped into the waning sun.

* * *

 **That's all folks!**

 **Onto the reviews:**

 **Serpent Rose:  
Hey! Thanks for the super nice review :D I swear I'm still here, alive and kicking xD I've been sorta playing this game rather competitively, which made me lazy when it comes to writing hahahaha I swear more chapters to come!  
Cheers :) **

**Janusscientes:  
Hiiii! Thanks for the encouragement :D I swear I'm just a super slow typer and updater xD I'll try to be a bit more diligent in the upcoming months xD**

 **Lexxxloubell:  
Your wish is my command :D Enjoy! **

**snm1:  
Thanks so much for the lovely review :D I'm glad that you're enjoying the story :)**

 **Luvs2Read:  
Hello! I'm glad that you're enjoying their odd dynamics, more to come where that came from XD I find Jughead to be a very hard character to befriend, but I think Ruby suits him in ways, because she's also similar in that 'one friend for life' kind of mentality. He definitely deserves someone like Ruby :D**

 **bitch-jerk-cas:  
Glad that you're enjoying the story! Here's a small update :)**

 **SmillyReaper:  
Yessir xD**

 **top story:  
Happy that you're enjoying it :) Here's a bit more on Ruby starting school in this chapter :D More insanity to come though hahahha**

 **Guest:  
My pleasure to update :D**

 **Forbesfever:  
Please don't cry xD Here's an update :D**

 **Valerie:  
Hi there! Surprisingly, I'm still alive XD I was pretty sick and then I got into this game during my down time and the rest is history? xD  
I promise there will be much more on the topic of Jughead and Ruby and their friendship… Also, on Ruby finding her spot in the mess that is Riverdale xD  
Thanks for thinking of me, all my best!**

 **Jitsukawa:  
Cheers!  
What can I say, I love good background? Like, most fanfics focus on the pain pairing and just roll that thing over and over. However, I think that those kinds of relationships are a bit toxic. Everyone needs friends other than their s/o. Hence, I'm laying down some groundwork XD  
Hope you enjoyed the update :D**

 **DarkWorld67:  
I swear Jughead being in with the Wolfe family was not planned xD It was supposed to be Archie or Sweet Pea originally… However… Juggie came and stole all the thunder xD**

 **Guest27:  
Oh man, me too! I'm not American but I only had one 4** **th** **of July experience and it wasn't nearly as grand as this xD I need a giant one with all these fireworks omgggg xD  
P.S.: There may or may not be a mention of that in the future :P**

 **When I Make It Shine:  
Omg, please invite me xD I need some crazy fireworks and insanity xD  
Jo is… everything a USA dad is to me tbh xD I lived in a host family in USA for a while and I'm kinda pulling a lot of him from my host father xD Crazy and sweet, but overdone since this **_**is**_ **Riverdale xD  
Juggie came and stole the thunder I say haahhahah  
Thanks for the lovely comment!**

* * *

 **My best to all of you readers, I hope to hear from all those who are still reading :P**


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